Unexpected
by theHidden1
Summary: The Hyuuga Clan is forced to make peace with an old enemy. Neji has an important role to play in this treaty. Will he do what is asked of him? If he does he may gain more power in the clan. But what will he have to do to gain that power? - Please R
1. Chapter 1

I do not Own Naruto- Characters created by Masashi Kishimoto

Chapter 1

The Treaty

POV Hiashi Hyuuga

Hiashi Hyuuga sat beside Neji and took a drink of the tea that had been brought for them. The training had gone well that day and Hiashi was satisfied with Neji's hard work, though he would never show it.

As they sat there catching their breath, a servant approached from the front gate.

"Hiashi-sama," He bowed low, "The Hokage has requested your presence."

Hiashi sighed. _I hope she doesn't try to involve herself in clan affairs again. It's not her business._ He stood and looked at the man. "Tell her I will come now." The man bowed again "Yes-sir".

Hiashi moved away from Neji, leaving the young man sitting by himself.

"Come in."

Hiashi opened the door to the Hokage's office. Tsunade was sitting hunched over her paperwork with Shizune standing in the background.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Hiashi-san".

Hiashi bowed his head slightly in response. "What is it you want, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. There had been no direct threat in his words but he had let his distain for her slip through.

"We have made peace with the Village Hidden in the Sun."

Hiashi blinked. He could see how this would be an advantage to Konoha. The Sun village was a very strong ninja village. But he could also see why Tsunade had called him here and he didn't like her reason.

"We will not make peace with the Faura Clan. There is too much blood between us."

Tsunade sighed. "Somehow I knew you would say that. I know that the Hyuugas have been pitted against the Fauras for centuries- even before the villages were established, you were great enemies. But you must see that a peace treaty between our villages will not work if a clan here still holds enmity towards them."

She took a drink of her tea, offering him some as well. When he waved her offer away she said, "The treaty between us and Sun is very important. Although they are small, they are a strong ninja clan. If they joined forces with the other villages, their strength combined with others could cause serious damages. I would rather have them on our side. As Hokage it is my duty to do what I can to keep this village safe. I have decided that the Sun village will become our allies. This means that the Hyuuga clan must put aside past offences and make peace with the Faura clan."

Hiashi clenched his teeth, his fists curled tight until his knuckles turned white. "How are we supposed to do this? They would never allow an ambassador to visit. And I would not trust them enough to send one. We have not had dealings with them since the second Hokage's lifetime. We have kept a semblance of peace. Isn't that enough?"

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "No. It's not enough. If another war were to break out, I need you to be willing to fight alongside the Faura clan. At this point all you are doing is avoiding each other at all costs to avoid conflict. I need you to make an alliance with them that will last. The Faura clan realizes this and they are willing to send an ambassador."

Hiashi snarled, "And have them kill us in our sleep? No. That is not the solution either."

"I have already given them leave to come. They will be stationed away from the Hyuuga compound and will be constantly under ANBU guard. They will be here in one week."

Hiashi's eyes flashed with anger. "Fine. We will deal with these ambassadors. However, I will be sending Hinata and Hanabi away. I don't want another kidnap attempt."

Tsunade nodded, "Do what you will. But make peace with them, Hiashi. We cannot afford such a strong clan as the Faura to join with our enemies."

Hiashi huffed acknowledgment and strode from the room. Before the door swung shut he heard Tsunade say to Shizune, "I need a drink."

He rolled his eyes inwardly and strode out of the building back to the Hyuuga compound. He needed to call a meeting of the clan.

POV Neji

Neji opened his door after hearing a light knock. A servant was standing there looking at the floor.

Neji scowled. "What?" he snapped.

"A clan meeting has been called and your presence was requested, Neji-sama." She said with a bow.

He kept his cold stare on her for a moment before closing the door without a word. Neji hated how the servants cowered around him. He knew he scared them, and often used it to his advantage to get them to leave him alone. Of course it meant he had to clean his own room, but since he wasn't particularly messy anyway, he didn't mind. They would do any real cleaning while he was gone on missions.

Now as he walked towards the Main house he wondered why he had been called to this meeting. Usually he wasn't called unless it specifically pertained to his ninja abilities. It had been a while since he had had a good mission. Maybe Hiashi would have something for him to do.

When he went into the hall it appeared he was one of the last ones to arrive. _Anymore and we wont all fit in here_ he thought. Hyuugas were lining the walls, it felt too crowded.

As he looked around he noticed that it was not only ninja who were gathered, but also the elders of the clan. Those who controlled the clan like a puppet on strings.

Neji's eyes narrowed. _Why would everyone be here? It must be big to instigate such a meeting._

Hiashi stood near the front of the room. He waited until even the quiet murmur had died into silence before he spoke. "The Hokage has just given us some news."

Neji noticed the Elders were not overly attentive to what he was saying. In fact they were scanning those ninjas in the room who were older. _They already know._ He saw Hinata standing across the room from him.

"She has informed me that for the benefit of Konoha, we have formed an alliance with the Village hidden in the Sun. And we must make peace with the Faura Clan."

It was as if a bomb had gone off. "What!" "They are our greatest enemies!" "Why must we treat with them?"

Neji had heard little of the Faura clan. He knew that they were enemies of the Hyuuga clan, but he did not know that it was this big of a deal. And the Village in the Sun sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place where he had heard it.

Hiashi held up his hand. "I understand your reaction for mine was the same. But as leader of Konoha she has signed an alliance with the Sun Village. The only thing that stands between Konoha and this strong alliance with the Sun is our fight with the Faura. I can see her reasoning for wanting peace between us. Neither side has ever truly gained victory over the other. It would be better for our clan to accept this and try to make peace."

He seemed to despise the idea as much as he saw the reasoning behind it. "The Faura have sent an ambassador, at the request of the Hokage, and will arrive in one week. Then we will proceed to try to make peace between our clans. There is much that we have to do in that time to make ourselves safe and ready. You are dismissed."

Neji pushed himself away from the wall as Hiashi and the elders left the room. The remaining ninja were clustering together as the wandered from the hall; speaking to each other about the astonishing news they had heard.

As Neji passed one group composed of some of the older ninja he heard, "The Faura? Do you think it possible to make peace with them?" "Well, I heard they had a new leader a few years ago. But I never thought it would be someone willing to make peace." "I refuse to fight beside them. In our last battle half of our clan was destroyed." "They had about the same losses though. Maybe it is time we gave up trying to defeat them. It seems as though it is not our fate to beat them, nor theirs to beat us." "If that is the case then peace would be the best option."

Neji headed towards the Hyuuga library. He hated being ignorant. He was going to see what he could find on the Faura Clan and their history with his own clan.

"Neji-niisan?"

He looked over to see Hinata standing a little ways away. He did not respond to her call but he raised his eyebrows in silent expectation.

She hesitated. Since his fight with Naruto he had been much nicer to her. He would even go so far as to say they were friends. Not close friends by a long shot, but he respected her and listened to her when she spoke.

"I was wondering where you were going, and if I could accompany you?" she raised her eyes to look at him. He gazed at her for a second, considering how much more comfortable he would be if he was alone in the library.

He nodded his head slightly and began moving again as she stepped in beside him. They were silent for a while, until Neji decided to enquire after her reasons for coming.

"Why did you want to come along?"

Hinata looked at him. "I thought you might know more about the Faura clan than I would; and if you didn't you would head for the library to find out. Either way, I knew that you would learn somehow and I want to know as well."

Neji smirked. She was so different from the person she had been before. She was seventeen now, and she had just become a jounin. She no longer stuttered and blushed her way through sentences but had grown into a confident young woman. Last year she had even told Naruto she liked him.

He opened the sliding panel that led into the library and switched on the light. The massive room was filled with books from floor to ceiling. This place was one of the great prides of the Hyuuga clan. They moved forward among the shelves and began searching among the scrolls for any clan history that had to do with the Faura clan.

About an hour later they were both seated at the table in the center of the room. Scrolls were piled high around them and they were methodically looking through them all. They both found several references to the Village hidden in the Sun, and to the Faura clan, but they could find nothing about the clan itself. Most were references to battles, where many had been lost. There was no specific information on what the clan did that made them so formidable.

It was very late when Neji closed the last scroll in frustration. He put away another stack of scrolls and went back to the table to see Hinata bent over her last scroll. She was scanning the words quickly. Neji doubted she would find anything better than what he had found.

Neji picked up the scrolls that she had already finished looking through and went to put the back on the shelf. As he was stacking them up he found another scroll that he had missed before. He picked it up and opened it. It was written pretty recently, within the last thirty years or so. He decided to glance through it to see of it came up with anything useful.

Within the scroll he found more references to battles with the Faura, but once again nothing specific about their power. Near the very end of the scroll, when he was starting to loose patience, he found a line that said "_We now hold a very delicate peace between us, the Hyuuga and Faura. After our last battle, both clans agreed to avoid open confrontation unless openly provoked by the other side. It would save many lives and give us a chance to rebuild our strength._"

Neji now understood why he had not heard much of the Faura clan, but those not too much older than him knew of them. Their clans had battled into a temporary checkmate and were at an unstable peace for years. Now with the change of leadership in the Faura clan, it seems like true peace is a plausible option.

Neji carried the scroll to where Hinata was still reading her last scroll.

"I found something interesting, though it is not what I wanted." Hinata looked up at him with interest. He told her what he had learned about the delicate peace that had been established and the change of power.

She nodded. "Yes. That makes sense. With a change of power, the clan might be more inclined towards peace."

She leaned back over the scroll.

Neji put the scroll away and was about to tell Hinata to give up for now, when her eyes went from skimming the page, to picking out every word.

"Did you find something?"

"Yes, I think so… This is the oldest scroll I have found where the Faura are mentioned. I believe I came across the record of their first encounter with us. It says something about the war and a great battle between nations. Then it says '_Our great Hyuuga clan came across its most dangerous foe, the Faura. When we faced them in battle we were confident of our skills, and so had no doubts to our victory. But when three days of raging battle had brought no victory to either side our fight came to a stop as we fell back to regroup, which they had done as well. In analyzing them they would seem to be at first glance weaker, but they are just as strong. At first glance they are slower, but they are just as fast. It seems as though two unbeatable forces have met each other in the meeting of our clan and theirs. However we will not back down. We will not prove weaker than these shape-shifters._"

Neji and Hinata both stopped reading there. Hinata stared at the scroll and then glanced at Neji in confusion.

"Shape-shifters?"


	2. Chapter 2 Ambassadors

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 2

Ambassadors

One week later Neji scowled at the fire. He had been sent away from Konoha with Hinata and Hanabi while the ambassadors from Faura were there. He thought back to what Hiashi had said to him.

"_Neji, I want you to take Hinata and Hanabi out of the village while the Faura are here. I cannot risk another kidnapping by our enemies. You know better than anyone how much of a disaster that was. Go to Tsunade-sama and get a team of ninja together to go with you. I would send other Hyuugas, but I need them here to guard the compound. I trust you will find teammates who will be willing to give their lives protecting Hinata and Hanabi."_

Neji had gone and talked to Tsunade. Though she was not happy with the situation she had given him a team.

"_Why can't Hiashi give you ninja for their protection?"_

"_He fears an attack from the Faura would need all the ninja of the Hyuuga clan."_

"_Excepting you obviously." She pointed out with her eyebrows raised._

_Neji didn't respond he just stood there and looked at her with cold eyes._

_Tsunade sighed. "Well I guess you are the prodigy. I will give you your choice of ninja to go with you. However you must run your choices by me so I can make it official."_

_Neji sat down in the chair before her desk. "Who is available?"_

_Tsunade opened the scroll that listed who was currently out on missions. _

"_Well…" she ran her finger over the page scanning the names, "Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke just got back from a mission, so they are available. Tenten and Lee are also around." She blinked at the page, "I can't let any of the older ninja go. I have back to back missions for them and they need all the rest they can get. You'll have to choose from that group."_

_She looked up at Neji expectantly. He was looking out the window thinking. _

"_Can I have them all?"_

_Tsunade looked surprised. "All of them? Do you need that many Shinobi along to protect two kunoichis?"_

_Neji shrugged. "I plan on taking them far from the village and going undercover. I don't want trouble from anyone on this trip. If we have more people it will look like we are a caravan and we will be less likely to be attacked by small groups of bandits. But we also won't be carrying much so the larger raiding parties won't think to attack us for our goods." _

_Tsunade nodded. "Fine. You may take them all." She took a drink from a cup of what Neji suspected was sake. "Shizune!"_

_Shizune came running into the room. "Yes Tsunade-sama?"_

"_Shizune, I want you to send a messenger to get Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Tenten, and Lee. Tell them to come here at once. Oh, and also Hinata and Hanabi."_

"_Hai!" And Shizune ran out the door._

_About twenty minutes later, everyone had gathered into the Hokage's office._

_Naruto was pacing around, impatient as ever. Sasuke was looking bored. Ever since he had returned after killing his brother and taking revenge on the village elders he had been the same as he was before he left; annoyed and uninterested. Sakura was standing in front of Tsunade's desk watching Naruto pace. Tenten and Lee were standing by the window talking quietly. Hinata had come to stand beside Neji but her eyes were on Naruto. And Hanabi had come in and stopped just inside the door. She was twelve and still a genin. Neji could see the confusion on her face as she stood in a room full of Jounin level ninja._

_Tsunade scanned the room and saw that everyone was there. Once it became quiet she began to speak._

"_Alright. I have a mission for all of you. The Hyuuga clan is having some ambassadors come from a previously hostile clan to sign a peace treaty. To avoid the circumstances of the last peace negotiations, Hiashi has decided to send Hinata and Hanabi away under Neji's guard."_

_They all glanced at Neji, who looked like a statue as he stared back at them. _

"_His plan is to take them out of the village undercover as a caravan of travelers. The size of your group will hopefully discourage attacks from small bandits, and your lack of goods should do the same for large raiding parties. The point is to go unnoticed through the country until Hiashi calls you back. Do you have any questions?"_

_Naruto opened his mouth to say something but seemed to reconsider and just shook his head. Since no one else said anything Tsunade continued, "You will leave tomorrow at dawn. Take civilian travel clothes, and only weapons that can be hidden well. You can come up with a more precise cover story on your own. You are dismissed."_

Neji poked at the camp fire they had set up. They had left the village three days ago and now the Faura were in Konoha. Neji had wanted to see them, to observe their chakra network and try to discover what that scroll had meant by shape-shifting.

He glanced up at the others still around the fire. Sasuke and Sakura sat together just staring into the flames. Hanabi, Tenten and Lee had gone to bed a while ago. Naruto and Hinata had gone to get some more water from the nearby stream.

Neji sighed and stood up slowly. They had traveled at an easy pace for the last three days and he was already tired of the civilian cover. It meant that they couldn't train with ninja weapons or techniques for fear of being discovered. Their cover story, in case they were questioned by anyone friendly or otherwise, was that they were from a village that had been destroyed by bandits a while ago, and they were traveling to find a new place to set up homes.

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi had done a henge to change their eyes so they would not be recognized as Hyuugas. Tenten and Lee were playing a young married couple. Hinata and Hanabi's story was that they were sisters, since they looked so alike anyway. Neji was playing as Tenten's older brother and the leader of the group. Naruto was just a tag along from the village. They had rehearsed their story several times so that they could recite it without mistakes.

Neji walked away from the fire. Naruto and Hinata had been gone for a while and he wanted to check on them. He glanced at Sasuke who was watching him leave.

"Take the first watch Sasuke. Wake whoever you want for second and Ill take third."

Sasuke nodded and poked Sakura who was falling asleep on his shoulder. She blinked awake, smiled at them and headed for her tent. Neji noticed that Sasuke watched her go.

Neji smirked and walked away into the forest towards the stream. He wanted to go to sleep. It had been a long day of complaining from Naruto and overenthusiastic remarks about youth from Lee. He was almost out of patience.

He made his way through the trees in silence. He didn't do it to sneak up on them, but he was so used to staying quiet in the woods that he just did it naturally. What he walked in on was not something he wanted to see.

He stepped out of the trees by the stream to see Naruto and Hinata making out. Naruto had her back pressed hard against a tree as he pushed himself against her in need. Her arms were wrapped tight around his neck and his hands were at her waist. They were definitely past the light kissing stage and had moved on to the more serious stuff.

Neji stared for a moment, too shocked to respond immediately. The strange thought ran through his head _Are they ever going to breathe?_

Neji shook his head to clear it and cleared his throat, pointedly glaring at the ground. Naruto and Hinata jumped apart. A blush spread quickly across both their faces as they turned to see Neji- who was a little red in the face himself.

Hinata touched her swollen lips. "Oh, Neji-niisan. I'm sorry we took so long. We were just coming back."

Neji just raised his brows at her silently. Hinata looked away.

"Well. I'm going to bed. Coming Naruto?" Hinata held out a hand towards him.

As Naruto began to reach for it, Neji cleared his throat again.

"May I have a private word with you, Naruto?" He asked this question with a silent threat that told Naruto he had better not say no.

Hinata glared at him and turned to stand her ground. "I'm not going to let you kill him for this Neji. This is my life and…"

"Stop Hinata. I'm not going to kill him. I'm not even going to hurt him. I just want to talk."

Hinata looked surprised that he had interrupted her. He was usually the kind of person to let someone finish a sentence before he told them how much of an idiot he thought they were.

"Oh. All right. Good night." She said to both of them and walked away glancing back occasionally to make sure Neji didn't slice Naruto open with a kunai.

Neji waited until he could sense her chakra in the camp before he even looked Naruto's way. Naruto was not directly standing in a defensive pose but he was very tense. Neji sighed.

"I'm not going to attack you. You can relax."

Naruto made a pointed attempt at relaxing, but it obviously wasn't working. His stance just looked somewhat less like he was prepared to fight for his life.

Neji stared into his eyes as he walked forward. He was not trying to intimidate him. He was just trying to think of a way to make what he was about to say sound less harsh.

"Naruto," Naruto flinched as Neji spoke. "You can't have her."

Obviously this wasn't the right wording. Naruto suddenly gained the courage he seemed to be lacking before and opened his mouth to speak.

Neji cut in first though. "Wait, let me explain."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and huffed out his breath. He continued to glare for a moment before he nodded. He had grown up so much from the annoying boy yelling about becoming Hokage.

"Our clan prides itself on our heritage. In case you haven't noticed, things in the Hyuuga clan can be very strict, especially for those in the main branch."

Neji sighed. "Hinata is the heir to the Hyuuga clan. Her father has been planning on creating an arranged marriage for her since before she was born. A man hasn't yet been picked but the documents have been drawn up already. All that is left to do is to fill in his name."

Naruto spoke. "I will put my name there." His eyes blazed with determination.

Neji shook his head slowly. "Do you think Hiashi will let his daughter marry the demon fox? I want Hinata to find her own path and be happy, but since she is the heiress, the likelihood of you two being able to be together is slim to none."

Neji crossed his arms over his chest.

Naruto stood there looking at the ground for a moment.

Neji just waited for him to respond as he knew he would. When Naruto finally looked up at him, his eyes blazed with even more determination.

Neji smirked. He knew Naruto would do this. He never gave up on anything he wanted.

"I will find a way to become what her family wants her to have. I will become Hokage as soon as I can so that I will be worthy."

Neji shook his head. "I do not think Hiashi will let Hinata be with you even if you are Hokage."

Naruto didn't loose a bit of the determination on his face. "I will find a way. Hinata will be mine. I promise."

Neji just smirked at him. "Remember what I told you." And he began to walk back to the camp site.

Naruto called out to him. "Wait Neji!"

Neji turned towards him and raised his eyebrows.

"Please keep our secret for us. I know that you don't think we can do this but I want to try. Please don't tell her family and ruin it for us."

Neji just stared at him. "Why would I tell them? I have no love for any of them. Hinata is the only family I have that I even care about. I will not tell them."

Naruto grinned stupidly. "Thanks."

Neji just shook his head and walked away.

Back at the camp, Neji crawled into his own bed. He laid there on his back as he heard the last people who were awake stumble off to bed. He knew he would be awakened soon by someone for the third watch, so he wanted to get as much sleep as possible before then. He began to relax all his muscles one by one, until he eventually fell into an uneasy slumber.

***

Four days later.

Neji walked along beside Sasuke. They were at the head of the group, walking along the path. Everyone was relaxed and chatting easily. Tenten was singing quietly to herself. It was a beautiful warm day.

They were going through a forest and tonight they were going to stay at an inn in a town they were passing through.

Their current route led them around Konoha. Neji looked in Konoha's direction. It was a three day journey to go back. But they hadn't been called yet. The ambassadors from Faura had been there for four days now. Neji found it most irritating that he didn't get to see them.

As they followed the path, the forest began to dwindle away. They came out over a large valley, and in the center was a small village. It was the first place where they would stop and stay the night. Neji had decided that they needed more supplies and since they were near a village they would stay. Neji had been given a certain amount of money by his uncle to use as he saw fit on their journey. Tonight he planned to use it to get some food and a place to stay.

As they walked down into the valley they passed several small farms. The farmers looked up at them with suspicious eyes and when the travelers glanced back, the farmers quickly looked away.

"They look like they are afraid of us." Tenten whispered.

Neji heard Lee answer her. "They probably haven't seen many strangers and so are suspicious of our intentions. It is a rather small village after all."

They continued to walk, now in an uncomfortable silence, as they passed more farms, and wary eyes.

When they finally reached the town it was much more welcoming. While small it had an inn and they were welcomed warmly.

"Come in! Come in!" The landlord said enthusiastically.

"You look tired and hungry. Can I get anything for you?"

Neji glared at the man to get him to calm down a little bit. His eyes weren't as effective now that they weren't milky white but he could still glare menacingly.

The man backed off a little when he saw Neji's look.

"We would like two rooms close together please. We will be staying one night."

"Will you be wanting dinner brought to your room? Or would you like to go out into the town to get it?"

Naruto began to say that he would like to go into town but Neji cut him off. "Bring it to the rooms please."

"Very well." The landlord said cheerfully. "Follow me then."

He led them down a hall to two rooms. The first he opened was spacious and had two large beds inside.

"If the ladies would like to stay here." He waved a hand towards the door as if it was a palace.

Hinata, Sakura, Hanabi and Tenten wandered into the room, dropping their packs on the floor or bed.

Neji scanned the room and window quickly before following the man one door further down the hall. This door opened to a much bigger room. There was one full size bed and four single beds.

"This is our family room. Very occasionally we have a large family come to stay with us. Anyway I think you will be comfortable here."

Neji nodded and paid the man.

"Dinner will be brought up at seven." And he left, leaving the door open.

They were taking off their own packs and claiming beds. Naruto and Sasuke ended up sharing the large bed, and Sasuke looked extremely annoyed. Tenten stuck her head into their room.

"So I'm assuming you don't want us going to town?" Tenten asked with a sad look on her face.

Neji smirked. His teammate was always this energetic. He had trained with her for years and she had rarely won a sparring match, but she had also never given up. He knew that she wanted badly to go into the town and spend all her money on useless objects.

"You may go into the town, but you must be back here by seven in time for dinner and then we aren't going out for the rest of the night. And you must take someone else with you."

Tenten lit up like he had just given her a present. She squealed and ran over to Lee.

"Come on Lee! Let's go see what this town has to offer!" She shoved her fist into the air as she dragged Lee out of the room.

Naruto leaned out the door after they left. "Don't spend all your money Tenten! You might need it later!"

"I know! Lay off!"

Naruto pulled away from the door and chuckled. "Was she always like this in a new place?"

Neji just looked at him. He didn't feel like responding.

Just then Hinata, Hanabi and Sakura walked into the room as well. Neji noticed that Naruto and Hinata were looking at each other fondly. Sakura walked over to the window next to Sasuke's side of the bed, where he was lounging with his eyes closed.

"So, anyone want to come with me outside? I want to look around as well."

She glanced over at Sasuke whose eyes were still closed. She stayed silent for a moment and when he didn't respond or even move, she poked him sharply in the stomach.

"Come on Sasuke. Come with me."

He sighed and rubbed his stomach wincing. Sakura really didn't know her own strength sometimes.

"Hn." He only grunted but he got up to go along.

Neji looked at those who were left. It was just himself, Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi. Hinata was standing near Naruto who was organizing his things, but she was looking at Neji. She seemed to be waiting for something.

Neji raised his brows at her in a silent question.

"Are we allowed to leave as well?" Hinata asked. Naruto glanced up to see what Neji's reaction would be.

Neji stared at them without emotion.

He looked over at Hanabi. She had been very quiet the whole trip. Neji didn't like her much. She was very like her father.

"Do you wish to go as well?"

Hanabi stared right back at him with her fake black eyes.

"Yes. I want to go out as well."

She was defying his leadership with every word. He knew she despised being under his command. She had been born to be above him. She should be commanding him. But for now she was just a genin and he was a Jounin.

Neji sighed. "Very well but I want the four of us to stay together."

Naruto and Hinata smiled at each other, and Hanabi just glared at Neji.

They made their way out of the room, closing the door behind them. Neji knew none of them were stupid enough to leave identifying information lying in their room while they were out. It had been one of the first things they taught ninja when training them for going undercover.

The town was small, but very busy. Everything was focused around one main street. Small shops and restaurants lined this street, and people were walking aimlessly through the stalls. Neji shadowed Hanabi since he knew Naruto would be closely watching Hinata. But he kept his eye on her as well. He was acting as though he was just walking along beside Hanabi to keep up their cover. If someone suspected he was playing the part of bodyguard then people might get ideas. Hanabi just ignored him. Neji preferred it this way. He didn't want to try to be friendly with her. She was a job at the moment. As soon as this was over they would go back to completely ignoring each other.

Naruto and Hinata stayed close to them, but never really walked with them. They chatted comfortably with each other and looked through the booths. Neji observed them quietly as Naruto bought Hinata a small trinket of some kind.

Ever since he had discovered them in their embrace he had been noticing their growing relationship. He also observed that the other girls in their group seemed to notice, except for Hanabi who was absorbed in her own little world of self-importance. Sakura would glance at them and smile slightly, Tenten would try very obviously to give them alone time. Neji smirked at their attempts at subtlety.

Hinata and Naruto seemed genuinely happy. They were quiet about it, so most of the guys hadn't noticed. But they were obvious if someone was looking. Neji shook his head slightly as he walked along beside Hanabi, Naruto and Hinata a little ways ahead of them.

After about an hour of walking around the town, they headed back to the inn. It was close to seven and dinner would be brought to the room soon. Neji and his group got back first. As they waited, the others slowly started to trickle in. Tenten and Lee were the last ones in the door right before the landlord and a maid brought in the food.

As they set up a small table in the larger room, Neji scanned the others. He was not worried but his ninja habits were just kicking in again.

When he saw that all of them were fine, if a little poorer than before, he sighed to himself. This had to be one of the most boring missions he had had as a Jounin, or even a chunin level ninja. Nothing happened. Not that he wanted anything to happen. He was succeeding in this mission just by wandering through the country side. He was just so bored. And he couldn't even train to rid himself of some of his frustration.

The dinner was good and very filling. After they were done eating most of them wandered off to bed. Neji knew that it would be a pain but he assigned a watch in each room. He didn't want to risk an attack at night when everyone was asleep.

In the girl's room, Tenten took the first watch and, to smooth things over, Neji took the first watch in the guy's room.

As everyone fell into exhausted sleep, Neji sat by the door. He was in perfect position for an attack from either the window or the door. He didn't want any surprises.

The hours slowly ticked by and Neji's thoughts turned to the Faura clan that was right now designing a peace treaty in Konoha. Neji had many ideas of what the scroll had meant by shape-shifters but he wasn't sure which one was true. Obviously it wasn't an illusion because all ninja could do that. So it had to be some kind of kekkei genkai that allowed them to truly change their shape.

He remembered the other kekkei genkai that he had heard of allowing the ninja to change their body drastically. He had heard of the kekkei genkai used by the sound ninja who had fought Kiba, back when they were first trying to bring back Sasuke. It was the ability to unify ones body with another's. In the same battle Lee and Gaara had fought the man named Kimimaro, who could manipulate his bone structure and composition. Another that he had personally seen was Yamato's wood release. He knew it was also the reason the first Hokage was so powerful.

These kekkei genkai were body altering, but Neji wouldn't say they were shape-shifting. If they could completely change their shape to become something completely different, then the only thing he could think of that was similar was the cursed seal that Orochimaru was famous for giving out. That allowed the user to change their shape temporarily into something much stronger than their human body. He hoped they didn't have that kind of ability.

Neji gave up. It was time for the next watch anyway. Neji stood and walked over to where Naruto was sleeping. He touched him gently on the shoulder to wake him up. Naruto blinked his eyes open slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Your turn for the watch."

Naruto groaned softly but rolled out of bed and headed for the spot Neji had just left. Neji pulled off his shirt and got into his own bed and closed his eyes. Just as he was falling asleep he though to himself _I would like to have the chance to fight one of the Faura_. He smirked. The Faura would probably be gone by the time he got back to Konoha, and he would probably never see them, much less get the chance to match himself against one.

He fell asleep thinking _How disappointing._

_***  
_

The next day Neji woke to the sound of Lee's exclamations about youth. He scowled at the ceiling. He rolled out of bed and tugged his shirt back on as the girls walked into the room.

"Good morning boys!" Tenten said in an annoyingly cheerful voice.

Neji seriously didn't know how he had survived being on their team when both his teammates were so happy all the time.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted when Sakura waved at him sleepily.

"Well, let's go. We can get breakfast on our way out of town." Neji said.

Everyone nodded and went off to grab their things. Neji pulled his own pack from the floor and swung it over his back. As he opened the door the landlord suddenly appeared.

"I see you are leaving." He said in a loud voice. "Would you like some breakfast before you leave?"

"No." Neji said. "We are leaving now."

"Alright. Thank you for staying with us for one night." He smiled obnoxiously and bowed to Neji.

Neji glanced his way again and just slipped past him down the hall. The rest of his teammates followed.

Once they were out on the street, Neji led the way out of town. The sun was just coming up past the horizon and it was painting the sky pink. The people were moving about slowly, some hiding yawns under their hands.

They followed the road out of the village.

"So where are we going now?" Naruto asked. He and Hinata were walking behind Neji who was leading the line again.

"We are two days from Suna. We will head there for now."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah! Ill get to see Gaara again! Hinata, have you met Gaara?"

Hinata shook her head.

"He's a good friend of mine." Naruto looked fondly off into the distance. Neji rolled his eyes.

Behind Hinata and Naruto, Hanabi walked alone, Sasuke and Sakura walked together in silence, and behind them, Tenten and Lee were arguing about something, gesturing at each other.

Neji just walked along the road towards Suna. He knew it would be a good idea to go there. The Kazekage could help them. And they could spend some time not wandering the dangerous countryside.

***

Neji and the rest of his team stood before the Kazekage in his office. Neji had told Gaara of their mission to protect the Hyuuga heiresses. Gaara had just sat there and listened.

"So what is it you want of me?" Gaara asked without emotion.

Neji crossed his arms. "We would like to stay here for a night. We have been traveling for nine days and we have not been attacked or threatened. Our journey seems to be very safe. But I want to be as safe as possible while we can be. Here we can have better protection. But to avoid notice we will leave in the morning."

Gaara nodded. "I can have apartments set up for you."

Neji bowed slightly. "Thank you, Kage-sama."

They were led away by another ninja who had his face covered to keep the sand out of his eyes. He took them to a small building near the Kage building. When they got inside they saw that there were enough rooms for each of them to have their own room.

"Kazekage-sama has set a watch outside the building so you need not set your own watch." And he wandered away.

Neji showed no response on his face but he was relieved inside. When he had seen the individual rooms he was worried about how to set a watch. This way no one had to loose sleep.

***

The next morning they were ready to set out very early. When they reached the entrance to the village Neji saw that the Kazekage was waiting there for them. Naruto walked up to him and held out a hand. Gaara slowly grasped it.

"Thanks for your help." Naruto grinned at him.

Gaara's expression didn't change from his emotionless mask but his eyes softened just a little bit. He nodded.

They left Suna to travel through the country aimlessly. Neji decided that it would be best if they avoided other villages for a few days.

They set out with the intention of disappearing into the countryside.

***

Two days later they were walking through a small forest on the border of the fire country. Neji was leading with everyone trailing behind him.

Suddenly he became aware of a chakra signature that he didn't recognize close by. He didn't stop his walk but he slowed down so he was walking beside Sasuke. He glanced at him and began to speak softly.

"I sense someone nearby. They have been trained in chakra control. I don't want it to be obvious we know they are there so don't stop but let everyone else know. I want to be prepared for anything."

Sasuke nodded. Neji sped up again as Sasuke slowed down to walk next to Naruto and Hinata. Neji heard conversation pick up behind him. It sounded like a normal conversation but anyone who knew Sasuke knew that he didn't have normal conversations. Naruto picked up on it right away and got the message to be on guard. Hinata passed the message on to Tenten and Lee.

Neji wanted to activate his Byakugan but he would have to drop the henge and he didn't know how close the person was. If they were looking for a Hyuuga they would know what to look for. Neji dropped back again to walk next to Hanabi. He glanced down at her.

"If this turns into a fight," he whispered, "Stay close to me."

She scowled at him but nodded.

Neji could feel other chakra signatures coming in on the first one. There was a whole group of them now. They weren't getting closer but they were moving. They were traveling exactly parallel with their group. Neji glanced back at Hinata. Naruto had wrapped an arm casually around her waist to bring them closer together. Hinata turned and buried her face in his neck as though cuddling with him. Neji heard her mutter the jutsu that would activate the Byakugan. Neji could tell she was looking through Naruto's neck to see those on the other side. It made Naruto shiver.

Hinata turned back to Neji, her eyes now a normal color. She sighed.

"It's been ten days now hasn't it? Since we left our village?"

Neji nodded at her. He knew she was really telling him how many people were hiding out there.

"Its surprising we haven't run into anything dangerous." Hinata said as she wrapped her arm around Naruto's waist as well.

Neji got the message. There was something Hinata had seen that told her these people were dangerous. Neji was immediately on guard. He was trying to decide whether or not to call them out or to wait and see if they attacked. He decided to wait. They might have no interest in their group, maybe they just happened to cross paths.

Neji continued their wary walk cautiously, but casually, as if they hadn't noticed anything. He was straining his senses to catch exactly where they were. They were still hovering just out of sight.

They walked like this for over an hour. Neji clenched his teeth. It was like being a mouse that could see the cat watching. All they had to do was wait for the cat to pounce. It was all the waiting that was driving him crazy.

Neji could tell Naruto was bothered by it as well. He was twitchy and he kept shifting his position.

Neji felt the chakra signatures speed up and move ahead. He looked forward. The road came to a curve around the trees. He hoped they would not be waiting for them there, but if they were, at least they could be prepared.

As Neji followed their chakra signatures with his senses he found that they did indeed stop on the road. He glanced back at the others. Using hand signs they had been taught in the academy he told them to arm themselves and be prepared to fight, but to still keep up the cover of villagers until it came to an actual battle.

Neji reinforced the henge on his eyes. He wanted there to be no chances of recognition among these foes. As they rounded the corner they saw a group of men lounging about the road. As if they had come to stop there by chance.

Neji's eyes narrowed but he led the way forward until they were still a good distance apart but could see details in each others faces before he stopped.

One of the men looked up, acting as though he was surprised.

"Why, look here! Its seems we have some guests to join us tonight!"

He smiled at Neji. It was the kind of smile you saw on someone about to pull a horrible prank.

Neji smirked. "I'm afraid not. We are just on our way down this road so if you wouldn't mind clearing a path for us then we will be moving along."

The man's grin got bigger. "I'm afraid not. Me and my boys haven't had good company in such a long time. Oh. And we came for your money." He added this as though it were an unimportant side note. He pulled out a long dirty knife. "We outnumber you quite a few I can see, and you don't want us to hurt those pretty women of yours."

Neji scowled at him and naturally slid into a defensive pose. Everyone behind him did the same thing. Though Sakura, Hinata, Hanabi, and Tenten had the mental capacity to stay slightly behind as though they were untrained village women.

Neji had no weapon since he used gentle fist in a fight. So he held up his hands. As though he was trying to offer peace.

"We have no quarrel with you. Let us go. We will give you our money. Just let us be."

The man took a step forward. "Like I said, we haven't had good company in a long time. Those ladies of yours look like they would be fine company to keep a man warm at night."

Neji just glared coldly.

"Now don't scowl at me like that. You're a man. You know how these things work. Give us your money and let us enjoy the company of your women for the night and we will let you go without harm; just a little poorer," he looked Hinata up and down, "and slightly more used."

Hinata shivered and backed up. Naruto gave her a confident look. Neji just shook his head at the man.

"No."

The man looked at his men. "Too bad. Looks like we will have to force you."

His men smiled and drew their own weapons. They started forward in an unorganized attack.

Neji backed up to put himself directly in front of Hanabi. Naruto also pushed Hinata back. Neji heard her grumble. "I can fight too you know."

Neji knew she could fight. She was getting to be a very good fighter. But that wasn't the point. If anyone was out looking for female members of the Hyuuga clan they would look for specific traits known to be used by the main branch. Hinata and Hanabi's fighting style could give them away to anyone watching. Both Hinata and Hanabi knew this, but they still hated being held out of a fight.

Neji slid into an openly defensive stance. So did the rest of his team. They were raising fists and Tenten pulled out a staff. They were still under the cover of untrained villagers.

The men on the road began to surround their group. The leader smiled again. "Sorry. It's our chosen career."

With that he raised his knife and charged Neji with a yell. Neji easily sidestepped the blade as he heard the others start to fight as well. The thieves were good fighters for raiders, but nothing compared to ninja.

Neji found himself almost playing with the man. He dodged another swing and hit his hand away. As the man danced around Neji trying to find an opening, Neji took every opportunity to block the mans chakra points. He never went for anything major; the man was not affected so obviously that he noticed what was slowly happening to his body; he was just becoming tired faster than usual and so slowing down considerably. Neji smirked again. _Not that he was fast to begin with._

The man realized he was weakening so he began to back off. He was staying outside of Neji's reach so if Neji wanted to move forward he would have to change to an offensive stance. Neji didn't want to do this because if he changed to being on the offensive he would leave Hanabi in a more vulnerable position. Neji decided to try for another option.

The man saw an opening when he was very close to Neji and he grinned. Neji had left the opening on purpose to try to get him closer. The man fell for it and lunged, his blade outstretched, for Neji's stomach. Neji grabbed the man's wrist and using his momentum pulled him across his body so the man's back was exposed. As the mans speed pulled him forward, Neji's hand shot down and shoved a spike of chakra straight into his heart, killing him instantly.

Neji watched as the man fell to the ground, dead.

He looked up and saw that most of the other bandits were down as well. Hanabi and Hinata were still safely behind him and Naruto.

The rest of his team finished off the other men quickly and looked to Neji for direction.

"Let drag them into the forest. We need to hide signs that there was a fight here."

Sasuke looked up. "We should burn them as well."

Neji nodded.

Tenten and Sakura both started to protest burning these bodies. Sasuke looked at them.

"If we leave them like this anyone who is a trained ninja will know that other ninja killed these men. And if they look at him," Sasuke pointed to the man Neji killed; he had no fatal wounds or marks on him, "they will know he was killed with the gentle fist."

Both girls looked away.

"Fine." Sakura said.

They began the arduous work of dragging the bodies off the road and into the forest. They decided that they wouldn't light the fire until they were ready to leave because the smoke and smell might attract enemies and animals.

As soon as they had the bodies piled up, they began to get ready to leave. They washed any traces of blood away in a nearby pond.

Finally they were ready to leave the area.

They stood near the bodies awkwardly. Neji looked at Sasuke and nodded.

Sasuke turned and made the hand signs for a fire jutsu. He took a deep breath and exhaled a huge ball of flames onto the pile.

When Sasuke ran out of breathe and the fire stopped streaming from his mouth, the fire on the pile continued to rage on. Neji turned away from the burning criminals and began to return to the road. They needed to get away from this place and find a suitable campsite before it got too dark.

He heard the others follow him, except for one. He turned back to see Sakura still standing before the fire. Sasuke noticed the direction of his gaze and he looked back as well. Neji watched as Sasuke went back and took Sakura's hand. Neji knew that as a healer she would take death hard. But it was a major part of the ninja lifestyle. They all dealt with it in their different ways.

Sasuke gently pulled Sakura along, until she turned to follow him. Neji heard her say, "I don't pity them this death. They were horrible men. But I hate killing so blatantly. They will be gone without a trace; with nothing left for those who knew them to remember them by. What if they had families?"

Sasuke shook his head. He didn't say anything to try to comfort her. He just kept a hold of her hand and led her forward away from the death and destruction left behind them as though leading her away from a bad dream.

***

That night they found a place to camp in the forest. It was a good size clearing near a lake. They set up the tents and built a fire. Naruto went to catch some fish in the lake with Hinata for dinner.

Neji moved about the camp making sure they were all doing something useful and not just fooling around. Neji heard a soft bird call and he looked up. High up above was a pigeon flying overhead.

Neji echoed the call to it. If it was a bird from Konoha it would respond to the call and approach him. When it heard his soft bird call it fluttered down and landed on his arm. There was a small scroll tied tightly to its leg.

Neji patiently detached the scroll from the bird and set it gently on Tenten's shoulder while he read it.

It said:

_Neji,_

_Return to the village as soon as you can. The others are still here but the threat has passed. _

_Hiashi_

Neji tossed the scroll into the fire and pulled out a new, blank one. He wrote:

_We will return within three days if we do not encounter trouble._

He did not sign it. He just curled it around the bird's leg and sent it back to Konoha. He watched it fly away for a few moments before he turned back to the fire. Everyone had returned from their various duties and was watching him. He sighed.

"They have called us back."

Naruto jumped up. "Yes! Finally we get to go home!" And he turned and hugged Hinata, who blushed.

The news of their return to Konoha seriously lightened the mood of everyone there. Neji himself would be glad to drop the disguise of a villager. He wanted to train. And with the Faura still at the village, maybe he could spar with one of them.

***

Three days later the whole team stood once again before Tsunade's desk. Since this was an official village mission they had to report to her before the three Hyuuga's could return to the compound and report to Hiashi.

Tsunade looked over all of them. They were in good health with no wounds. They didn't even look very tired.

"The mission was a success. We had no problems except for one attack which was easily handled."

Tsunade nodded as Neji finished his report.

"Very good. Ill get this paperwork in order and then you will receive your pay. You are dismissed."

They all began to file out of the office. Once outside, most of them wandered in separate directions. Naruto said a quick goodbye to Hinata before running off to Ichiraku's.

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi headed straight for the Hyuuga compound. If they had gone anywhere else first Hiashi would have killed them all.

As they approached the gate Neji fell into position behind Hinata and Hanabi. It was the expected position of one who was not a main branch member when walking with someone who was. Neji hated it but he had to do it.

Hinata looked back at him with an apologetic look in her eyes. Neji just shook his head slightly. He didn't want her pity.

They entered the compound and found that having the ambassadors there had caused quite an uproar. Ninja were stationed around the wall every few feet, and inside people moved as though they were setting up a huge event.

Hinata stopped one of the servants running past.

"What's going on?" She asked.

The man bowed and said, "The ambassadors are returning tonight to finish up the first part of the treaty, Hinata-sama. Your uncle has decided to host them here instead of outside the compound."

"Thank you." Hinata smiled at him.

He smiled back slightly, bowed low and said, "Hinata-sama" before rushing off in his previous direction.

When they arrived at the office of Hiashi and knocked, they were granted entrance right away. Hiashi was sitting behind his desk going over paperwork. Servants and other members of the household kept coming in and out to put more papers on his desk. Hiashi grabbed one and told him to wait outside and bar entrance to anyone until he was done talking to them. The man nodded and closed the door behind him.

Hiashi sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Neji had never seen his uncle look so tired. Hiashi looked up at them.

"Well? Report."

Neji stepped forward since he had been the leader of the mission.

"The mission was a success. We had very few troubles. We were attacked once on the road, but they were not ninja and had no desire other than to take advantage of us. We got rid of them easily. Other than that we were not discovered or followed."

Hiashi nodded slowly.

"Good. I called you back because the negotiations for the treaty are coming to an end, and I see no threat from them now. They come to the compound tomorrow to complete it. I wanted the heir to be here as an honorary pact between our clans. To show them I trust them."

He looked at Neji. "You will still guard Hinata with your life while they are here. I trust them enough to bring her back only because she is a Jounin now and can defend herself, but I don't trust them completely."

Neji nodded. He figured he would have to do this. _Playing bodyguard. How boring._

Hiashi looked at Hanabi. "You will stay in the main house until the negotiations are over. You will be guarded as well. You are just a genin and no match for any of their ninja."

Hanabi opened her mouth to complain but Hiashi cut her off.

"You will do as I say Hanabi, without complaint. Now go."

Hanabi left looking infuriated.

Neji looked at Hiashi's face.

"They are coming early tomorrow. Both of you need to be in your best kimonos. And on your best behavior. I expect that if they address you, Hinata, you will not shame us by stuttering or blushing as you used to do so often."

Hiashi gave her a harsh look and Hinata stared back defiantly for a moment before she folded and looked at the floor. Sometimes Neji wished she would just stand up to her father.

"Now go. Neji, you are moved to the room across from hers in the main house. You will protect her from there."

Neji nodded and followed Hinata out of the room. Once outside Neji noticed the cluster of people all waiting to get into Hiashi's office. He didn't envy Hiashi his job as clan leader. _All those annoying people always wanting to talk to you? Nope I don't want it._

He followed Hinata outside the building as they headed for the main house. Neji didn't like the main house. For his whole life it had been a symbol of the overbearing control they exercised over his existence. Now he was going to have to live there for a while.

Hinata led him into the house and to her room. She stopped outside and turned to face him.

"Neji?"

Neji stopped with his hand on the door to his own room and turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about father."

Neji smirked, but in a less patronizing and more friendly way.

"I know." He said.

With that he turned away from her and walked into his room. He dropped his bag on the bed. This room was much bigger than his own in the branch house.

_Well. First things first._ He thought to himself. _Time for a shower._

_***  
_

The next morning Neji woke early and well rested. He put on his best kimono made of the light grey silk for the Hyuuga clan. The clan symbol spread across his back.

When he was ready he went across the hall and tapped on Hinata's door. He heard some rustling but there was no response.

"Hinata?"

"Yes! Hang on!"

Neji smiled and leaned against the wall. It was so typical of a girl to be running late because they were taking too long getting ready.

A few minutes later Hinata came out in a hurry. She was wearing a grey silk kimono as well, but hers had been designed for her beauty. The silk was in three layers, starting with a very dark grey to contrast with her pale skin, and going to a lighter grey until it got to the outer layer which was a sheer grey. In the outer layer, beautiful grey eagles had been stitched into the fabric. And the Hyuuga symbol was stitched into the back in a very elaborate design.

Neji smirked at her.

"You look very nice, just don't fall." He was teasing her. The last time he had seen her wear this she had tripped and fallen in front of her father. She stared at him for a moment before punching him on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much for reminding me of that incident!" She turned her nose up and walked away.

Neji smirked again and followed her out of the hall.

A servant was waiting there for them. He bowed to Hinata. "Hinata-sama. Please follow me. The Faura have not yet arrived but your father is waiting."

Hinata and Neji followed the servant. As they went into the large meeting room where they had all been told the Faura were coming. Neji looked around. It had been decorated with expensive rugs and tables and other finery. It looked very formal. Neji rolled his eyes at the attempt to try to impress the Faura with their wealth.

Hinata was lead to a seat beside her father. This would be a formal negotiation. There was a large table set up and the Hyuuga were to be on one side, and the Faura on the other. Neji assumed he would be standing someone behind Hinata in an obscure location so that he could see everything. But instead, when he moved away to claim a spot on the back wall, the servant touched his sleeve to stop him. Neji glared at him. He didn't like being touched without good reason.

"Neji-san. Your place is beside Hinata-sama."

Neji couldn't stop surprise from coloring his eyes. The servant nodded.

"Hiashi-sama commanded it."

Neji rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be involved in these negotiations. Though it would give him a better view of the Faura, but he also wouldn't be able to use his Byakugan. He had planned on using his kekkei genkai in the shadows to see their chakra network and any hidden weapons or movements.

Hiashi looked over at him. "I want you at the table Neji. I have others who can watch for hidden attacks."

Neji hated that Hiashi had known what he was thinking. He scowled and sat next to Hinata. Other Hyuuga members filed into the room until all the important Hyuugas were present. Neji noticed that he and Hinata were the youngest people in the room.

About a half an hour later the Faura were led into the room. There were ten of them and they were all men. They were dressed in very formal kimonos like the Hyuugas, but the Faura seemed to operate around bright color. They were dressed in bright yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple, and white. They looked like they were attending a festival, not a peace negotiation.

They were also colored lighter. Their faces were darker toned but their hair was much fairer than usual. Neji was used to seeing mostly dark brown or black hair. Only occasionally would someone in Konoha have lighter hair like Naruto and Sakura. Of these men only one had dark hair, the rest were colored light brown or blonde. Neji assumed this had something to do with them being the village hidden in the sun.

Neji observed their faces and stances. They were serious people which contrasted with the bright colors they wore. Their stances, though, were relaxed and easy. Neji could tell that seven out of the ten were trained ninja just by the feel of their chakra control and the way they held their bodies. The other three were older so they must have been some of the village elders.

They sat down across from the Hyuugas and servants began to pour some tea. Neji noticed that most of them were eyeing Hinata and himself. Hinata was the heiress so their interest in her was understandable. He couldn't understand their interest in him however. He was just another person at the table.

The man across from him looked to be about the youngest of the Faura. In fact he could have been Neji's age. He had the darker hair out of all of them, but still lighter than Neji's. He was wearing orange and yellow, making him look like some kind of bright fire. He looked across the table at Neji who stared back. The other man smiled just a little bit but then looked towards Hiashi where the negotiations were picking up.

_Maybe he will fight me sometime_ Neji though to himself.

Neji directed his attention to the negotiations that were happening at the center of the table.

Three hours later Neji was back to thinking about sparring with the man across from him. His face showed none of his boredom but he was very far away mentally.

For a long time they had been discussing the terms of some kind of trade. It sounded as though it would be temporary. Neji had listened long enough to make sure it wasn't an arranged marriage for Hinata. He would have greatly protested that. He knew his cousin was probably destined to be married off to someone she didn't know. But he hoped it would be a clan that the peace wasn't so rocky with. An arranged marriage could easily turn into a hostage situation, and that would mean death for Hinata.

He was suddenly brought back to the present when he heard his name. He looked to Hiashi to see that he was gesturing at him and all of the Faura were once again surveying him with interest. Neji glanced over to Hinata to see a slightly fearful look on her face. Not wanting to sound like he had not been listening he just sat there and stared coldly back at those who were looking at him.

The elder who spoke for the Faura clan looked back at Hiashi.

"We accept the terms of this treaty." Hiashi nodded and signed a heavy scroll in front of him. When he was finished he pushed it across the table to the old man.

The man looked down and read it slowly. When he was finally done reading, he signed the scroll and rolled it up. A servant brought over another of the same size and gave it to Hiashi to sign as well. Neji recognized that there would be two official treaties, one for each clan to keep in their archives.

Neji was still trying to figure out why they had said his name though. He hoped that he wasn't involved in this, though it wouldn't have surprised him if his uncle had offered him up as a sacrifice to the Faura gods or something.

When they were finished signing the scrolls they toasted each other with sake. And then the meeting was over. Hiashi stood and invited them to a banquet that night as a celebration. When they accepted they all wandered off. Neji followed Hinata out of the room.

Outside Hinata still had that slightly fearful look on her face. Neji wanted to ask her what was wrong but he could see her eyes darting around the area still full of ninja. She led him to the Hyuuga training grounds which were unoccupied because of the visitors. Once she had him in the farthest corner she turned to him. He could see that her eyes were suspiciously moist, and she looked extremely apologetic.

"Neji-niisan. _I'm SO sorry._ I had no idea he would do this! He can't just spring this on you! It isn't fair! He should have told you that this was his plan…"

She was pacing back and forth and gesturing wildly with her arms. Neji caught her hands and held her still. He looked into her face until she looked back.

"What are you talking about Hinata?"

She breathed out quickly. Her eyes full of disbelief.

"You didn't hear them?"

Neji shook his head, still holding his cousins eyes with his. "No, I missed what they were saying."

Hinata broke their eye contact and looked at the ground.

"Neji… I…"

"Hinata. I know it's not your fault. Just tell me."

Hinata closed her eyes and a few tears leaked onto her cheeks.

"They are sending you to live with the Faura for a year."


	3. Chapter 3 The mission

I do not Own Naruto.

Chapter 3

The mission

Neji blinked at her slowly. The silent question in his eyes told Hinata that he didn't understand.

Hinata closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look him in the face to explain. Slow tears were still making trails down her face.

"Part of the treaty involves ambassadors. The Faura are leaving a group here to live with us, and we will send a group to live with them."

Neji nodded, still looking slightly dazed. "But what does that have to do with me?"

Hinata opened her eyes again.

"You aren't an ambassador. The other part of the treaty was sort of an exchange of prodigies. The Faura have a very talented prodigy ninja that they will leave here among their ambassadors. And as you are the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, you will be the one to go live there with our ambassadors."

Neji's mind was working quickly. Now that he was over the shock, he was trying to figure out why they would trade prodigies between villages. He had heard of exchanging brides, exchanging important clan family members, and many other kinds of exchange, but he didn't think he had ever heard of trading clans best fighters, even if it was for a set period of time.

"Why?" Neji asked.

For the last minute Hinata had watched him try to work through his uncles thought process.

"They want you to train with their clan heir. It's not to pass on Hyuuga and Faura secrets; it's more about building a relationship with the leaders personally."

Neji raised his eyebrows at her.

"So, you will be training with their prodigy?"

Hinata nodded.

"That man sitting across from you at the table today; the one wearing the fire colors? He is their prodigy. His name is Junichi."

Neji remembered the look of the man sitting across from him. He nodded.

"I remember."

Hinata squeezed his hands. He realized he was still holding her hands and he dropped them. He didn't like prolonged contact. The fact that he had forgetting he was touching her meant that he must have been very shocked.

Neji's mind was still working through the information she had given him. He was going to go train with the Faura heir for a year so that he could help develop stronger bonds between the two clans. Now that he was over his shock, he really didn't mind that much. In fact, as he worked through the reasons for it, he began to feel almost excited about it. Well, as excited as Hyuuga Neji can get.

Going to live with them for a year would be beneficial to Neji in many ways. For one, he would get to see their technique first hand, and he was still very curious about it. Another good reason was that he would be away from most of the Main Branch, and he felt that being away from them would give him some kind of freedom, even if only a little.

Of course, his mind caught onto some things that would be regrettable about being gone for so long. He had become good friends with Hinata, and he knew his leaving would make her sad. Also his team; Gai, Lee, and Tenten would be short one man if they did any team missions. Seeing as they were all Jounin now the likelihood of a team mission was slim, but they still were assigned to work together every once in a while. And Tenten would loose her sparring partner.

Neji considered all the pros and cons of this mission in the blink of an eye. He would not hesitate to go though. It was a mission, and he was a ninja. It was his duty to go without complaint. Besides, this was one mission he wouldn't mind fulfilling.

Hinata was still standing there watching his face closely.

"Aren't you going to do something about this? It's not even my life and I'm angrier than you are! You don't even look miffed." Hinata crossed her arms.

Neji smirked at her.

"I'm not going to do anything and neither are you. It is our duty as ninja and members of this clan to do what the clan leaders desire." Both of them knew he was just reciting the same old lie about duty. Well, at least the clan part. Neji took his ninja duties very seriously, but when it came to the clan, he was notorious for being understandably against the main house.

Hinata stared. The only reason he would say that out loud when she was trying to talk him into rebelling was if someone was eavesdropping, which meant he had to worry about punishment… or if he actually wanted to go.

Hinata quickly expanded her senses out to see if she could find anyone close enough to hear them. Neji felt her do this and smirked again. When Hinata found no one she gasped.

"You want to go?"

Neji emitted a sound that was as close to a chuckle as Hinata had ever heard him make.

"Yes."

"_Why?_" Hinata asked.

"Think of it as an educational experience for me."

Hinata shook her head.

"I would be dreading this mission. I would refuse to go."

Neji looked down at her.

"We are very different people, Hinata."

She knew what he was speaking of. Though he kept it covered at all times, she never forgot about the curse mark that had been placed on his forehead. Nor did she forget the terrible power it held over his life. While she had to follow orders from her father and the other clan members for fear of punishment, those same clan members would take his life without blinking for any insubordination from him. She nodded, understanding his words, if only a little.

With that, Neji turned and walked away from her. He knew that Hiashi would be waiting to brief him about the mission, and he did not want to make Hiashi wait too long. The price he would have to pay for such an act would not be worth any gain in this situation.

***

Neji knocked lightly on the door to Hiashi's office.

On his way inside a servant had stopped him, and told him that, as he had suspected, Hiashi wanted to see him right away.

"Come in."

Neji slid the door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Hiashi was sitting behind the desk, looking more exhausted than ever. He lifted his eyes to Neji's briefly to acknowledge his presence.

"You will leave with the other ambassadors day after tomorrow. Four other men will be going with you, but you are the only ninja going who is of any importance. Any other ninja in the group will be older and more for the purpose of clan relations than fighting. You are going strictly for your ninja skills. All four of those men will be your superiors on this mission. You will follow direction from all of them. Hitoshi will be the ambassador and he will be the leader of the mission."

Neji did not respond at all.

"Your mission specifically is to train with the clan leader's heir. He is supposed to be about your age, so your skill levels should be somewhat equal. The goal is to strengthen the idea of teamwork between our clans. While you are there you will be assigned other missions by them as well. Carry them out as though they were in service of your village."

Hiashi once again turned his sharp eyes towards him.

"Questions?"

"No Hiashi-sama."

"Good. Now go. You are to continue to protect Hinata until you leave. The Faura are now living in the compound. I will find a replacement for you before tomorrow night, but until then, keep her safe."

Neji stared into his uncles eyes.

"Hai." He said curtly.

Hiashi nodded and turned away. Neji slipped through the door silently and wandered back to his room across from Hinata's.

He slipped out of the silk kimono he was still wearing and folded it gently back into a drawer. Standing there in just his pants, he felt the cold breeze hit his skin from the open window and he shivered slightly as goose bumps were raised on his body.

He changed into the shorts he normally slept in and slipped into bed. He lay there awake for some time, thinking about what the next year would teach him, before he finally drifted into sleep.

***

Neji woke before dawn. It was a habit he had picked up from his ninja lifestyle. He rose and showered. He dressed in his usual clothes that he had started wearing as a Jounin. It was comfortable and practical for the demanding ninja lifestyle.

Neji left his room and knocked lightly on Hinata's door. She opened it after a few seconds and peered out at him.

"Guarding me again?"

Neji just raised an eyebrow at her, thinking _Why would I be knocking on your door this early otherwise?_

Hinata sighed and pushed the door open all the way.

"I'm not quite ready," She said, "but Ill be done in just a minute. You can wait in here if you like."

Neji stepped just inside the door and stopped. He knew Hinata had meant for him to make himself comfortable on the couch but he didn't want anyone from the Main branch family to see him so relaxed around Hinata. They had this strange notion that the branch family members must live in constant submission otherwise they would rise up and try to take control.

The only time Neji had experienced otherwise was when Hiashi told Neji the true story about what had happened to his father. Neji shook his head. He didn't want to think about that day.

Hinata came out of the back room. She was dressed in her usual cut-off black pants and light purple jacket. She grinned at him.

"I want to train. It's been such a long time since I got to really train. You have to meet Tenten somewhere right?"

Neji nodded once.

"Well, if it's alright, Ill just come with you. Maybe we can snag a fourth somewhere along the way and train in teams."

"Hn."

Hinata rolled her eyes at his response. But then Neji had always been like that.

They left the main house and headed for the entrance to the compound. It was a very peaceful morning. Only a few others were up to see the early hour, and no one disturbed them as they walked.

They slipped out of the compound gates with a nod to the ninja watching there, and they set off towards the isolated training grounds on the outskirts of Konoha. This field was Neji's favorite place to train and it was where he and Tenten had been training together since the Chunin exams.

They walked at a leisurely pace through the village, and bought some breakfast from a fruit stand on their way. However, they didn't see anyone 'to snag' as Hinata had so eloquently stated earlier.

As they approached they saw Tenten coming towards them from another road. She raised her arm and waved energetically to them.

"Hey! I didn't know you were coming Hinata-chan! This will be great!"

Neji shook his head at his teammate's enthusiasm.

Hinata smiled at her though.

"Yeah. Neji has to guard me again today, and both of us wanted to train since it's been so long. Do you mind if I join you for today, Tenten-chan?"

Tenten waved her hand dismissively.

"Nope. Lets, you and me, gang up on Neji and beat him to a pulp!" She grinned.

Hinata smiled back at her, and Neji rolled his eyes. Tenten had never beaten him, but their training together had made both of them exponentially stronger as the years passed.

"Ok. Let's do it." Hinata said grinning back at her.

Since Hinata was a close-range fighter, while Tenten was a long-range fighter, their plan was to have Hinata attacking Neji with everything she had on the field, and Tenten would try to catch him off his guard with her weapons.

Neji was looking forward to the fight because it would be a challenge to watch them both. He had sparred with Hinata recently, since she had joined him in the Jounin ranks, and she had become and excellent fighter. While Neji still defeated her, it had been a long fight.

Now fighting Hinata and Tenten would be a real challenge. Tenten's abilities with weapons were deadly, and now facing both of them would be hard. Neji knew that Tenten would have to hold back though, so as not to hit Hinata. He smirked.

_This should be fun._

Neji slid back into his signature pose as Hinata did the same and Tenten darted off to hide in the trees. Neji and Hinata both activated their Byakugan and stared at each other, not moving.

"Ladies first." Hinata said, smiling.

Neji smirked as she began her attack. She stepped forward and slammed her palm towards his chest. It was a very direct attack, and Neji blocked it easily. Both of them were using their gentle fist technique, so they both had to be very careful about where the other landed hits.

Neji and Hinata were moving so fast, they were a blur, but Tenten was used to Neji's speed. As Neji and Hinata tried to hit each others chakra networks, Tenten began throwing weapons at Neji whenever she could. Neji wasn't worried about her hitting Hinata. Tenten was the weapons mistress of Konoha and she never hit the wrong target. In fact, she never missed a target. The only way to stop a weapon from Tenten's hand was to force it off course.

Neji was focused on defending himself from the onslaught of attacks coming at him. He had to use his own weapons to deflect Tenten's which was easy as long as he kept his attention focused.

After about an hour of fighting, Neji saw that Hinata was becoming tired and so she was slowing down. He was beginning to get tired himself. Tenten had started attacking with her scrolls, sending large groups of weapons at him at once.

Hinata would always jump clear, into the space Tenten had provided for her, but Neji was forced to do his Heavenly Spin technique every time. It was wearing down his chakra levels, so his attacks were not as powerful.

However, now that things were slowing down, he had a plan. If he could disable one of them, he could defeat the other easily.

He focused his eyes on Hinata's chakra levels and network. He had blocked several of her chakra points but she had been able to prevent him from getting to any seriously damaging ones. From the feel of his own body, he knew that she had also gotten a few of his as well. Her chakra supply was lower but still good enough for a strong fight.

He was going to use his technique Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms, when a voice called out to them.

Both Neji and Hinata stayed in their fighting stance but turned to see who had yelled.

Naruto was running towards them waving. They relaxed into a standing position, and Tenten dropped from the trees and approached so she could hear what Naruto wanted.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! Neji-kun! Tenten-chan!"

Hinata smiled warmly at him. "Hi Naruto-kun."

Naruto stopped in front of them.

"Man, you guys sure were fighting hard."

He looked admiringly at Hinata.

Neji rolled his eyes so only Tenten could see. She giggled behind her hand.

"What did you want Naruto? Or did you interrupt our training for no reason?"

"Jeez Neji. Lighten up a bit."

This time Neji just sighed. Naruto had grown up a lot since he had first met him. Neji respected him a lot since he had been defeated by Naruto in the Chunin exams. Naruto had helped him see that he wasn't as chained to his fate as he thought he was.

"Grandma Tsunade wants to see you." He pointed at Neji.

Neji glanced at Hinata. He was supposed to stay with her, and Hiashi would not appreciate him disobeying his orders, even to follow Hokage orders. Hinata looked back at him. Then she turned to Naruto.

"I need to go with him, but can you come along too? Neji is supposed to be guarding me, and while he is talking to Tsunade I'm sure you will be an excellent guard." Hinata smiled at him.

Neji smirked as Naruto lit up.

"Yeah! I will guard you with my life!"

Hinata smiled at him again and Neji just grunted and moved away from them, towards the Hokage building.

***

Neji entered the Hokage's office, leaving Naruto and Hinata outside in the hall.

Tsunade looked up at him.

"Your uncle is sending you on a year long mission correct?"

Neji nodded once.

Tsunade sighed.

"Well, the loss of your skills for that amount of time is going to be rough on the village but I will not oppose this. Hiashi and I have too many disagreements between us already."

Neji didn't respond, he just looked at her with his cold eyes.

"Well. Ill take you off the mission roster then. You won't be getting paid by the village anymore while you are gone, since you technically won't be in our service anymore. Ill have to put it down as some kind of year long sabbatical. Good luck. Now get out of here."

Neji slipped out the door as two ANBU appeared before Tsunade.

Out in the hallway Naruto and Hinata were still making eyes at each other. Neji rolled his eyes and gestured to Hinata to follow him. He wanted to go back to sparring.

***

Neji and Hinata went back to the same field they had been training in before. However, as they approached Neji sensed a chakra signature there that wasn't Tenten's.

He wasn't worried as it was common for Shinobi from the village to train there, but he didn't want to have to find another training field.

As they came into sight of the field, Neji halted. Hinata stopped beside him and followed his gaze to the man standing tall in the grass.

Neji's eyes narrowed. It was the Faura prodigy. _What did Hinata say his name was? Junichi? What is he doing here?_

Junichi smiled slightly and began to walk slowly towards them. He stopped a good distance away. Neji realized his pose was not quite hostile but it was slightly defensive as though he was maybe expecting an attack. Neji tried to relax his stance.

Junichi saw his attempt and his smile grew. He turned his gaze to Hinata.

"Hinata-sama."

Then he turned his eyes to Neji.

"I don't think we have been properly introduced. Though I'm sure you know who I am, and I definitely know who you are. I'm Faura Junichi."

He bowed to both of them low enough to show high respect.

Neji stared for a moment, trying to gauge his actions.

"Hyuuga Neji." He replied. He bowed in return. This man looked like he was truly trying to be friendly with them.

Hinata just stood there, unsure of what to do. It was getting very awkward.

"Since you are leaving tomorrow I was wondering if I could spar with you today." Junichi stated calmly.

Neji smirked a little. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Here? Now?" She said in a tight voice.

Junichi laughed.

"I am not trying to gain an excuse for killing the prodigy, Hinata-sama. I haven't been able to train with someone of my skill level since we left our village. I also have never fought a Hyuuga and am curious to see your infamous fighting styles in action. We will not fight to the death or even to first wound. How about just until one overpowers the other?"

Neji nodded, smiling now. Hinata looked up at him.

"Is this a good idea Neji-niisan?"

Neji looked down at her calmly.

"The whole point of the treaty, Hinata, was to build relations with them and learn to fight together."

Hinata sighed and nodded.

"I guess you're right."

Neji stepped away from her side and closer to Junichi.

Junichi smiled again. Neji could see that he was anticipating the fight almost as much as Neji himself was.

"Should we use restraints?"

Neji knew he was asking if they should restrict themselves to only taijutsu or something similar.

"Not unless you want to." Neji said to him.

"Nope." Junichi grinned. Neji smirked.

Neji slid into his fighting stance; one hand extended palm flat and the other pulled back beside him, his feet spread apart for balance. Then he activated his Byakugan.

He observed Junichi's chakra network. It was very complex. It was unlike any other humans he had seen. The most similar would have to be Kimimaro's network. But this one was also completely different.

Junichi raised his arms into his own fighting stance. His wrists were crossed easily in front of him and his hands were almost relaxed, but Neji could tell they were in a very specific position. Junichi spread his feet apart for balance as well, sliding one in front of the other to turn his body.

They both stood there for a moment. Hinata had moved back away from the area, to a place where she would be out of the way but still able to see.

Neji decided that he would make the first move, since earlier he had given it to Hinata. He darted forward, focusing the chakra into his hands to use his gentle fist technique.

Junichi darted to the side but Neji followed easily. Junichi was able to fend off the blow to his shoulder by shoving Neji's hand to the side at the last minute. However, the strike hit his arm. Junichi winced at the numb tingly feeling where Neji had hit him. He jumped back for a moment and Neji didn't follow.

They stood across from each other.

"What was that?" Junichi asked, still rubbing his shoulder.

Neji smirked again.

"It's called gentle fist. I can send spikes of chakra into your system. Using this I can damage your chakra network, internal organs, and body if I wish."

Junichi raised his eyebrows.

"So the Byakugan can see the network?"

"Yes."

"Interesting." Junichi smiled again.

"So I guess I need to keep you away from my chakra network if I want to use my ability."

Neji didn't respond. He wanted to see the Faura technique. This guy had been fast to divert a blow from Neji. He had moved almost as quickly as Lee.

Junichi sighed and closed his eyes. And then he started to change. Hinata gasped and Neji heard her activate her own Byakugan.

Neji had been watching his eyes, so he could see the change happen as it occurred. Junichi hadn't done any hand signs preceding this change so Neji knew that it was not a jutsu.

As he stared wide eyed, Junichi's pupils dilated until they engulfed his entire eye, and they began to turn yellow. After about a second Neji was staring into the cold, glowing eyes of a wolf. Junichi had kept his body human, but he had changed certain attributes.

He now had wolf ears pointing out of his hair. His hands were changed as well; his fingers had shortened and now yellow claws were protruding from the ends.

Neji just stared at the strange sight before him. Junichi smiled again. Neji noticed that his teeth had elongated into fangs as well.

Junichi just stood there and let Neji see him change. Neji had paid close attention throughout the change to the shape of Junichi's network. As he had changed, the network had done the strangest thing. It was as though it was building a completely new set of coils inside his body.

Junichi held his hands out to the side.

"Well? What do you think?"

Neji just stared for a moment.

"I have never seen anything like it.", he stated simply.

Junichi laughed.

"Yes. That is most people's reaction to our power. But this isn't even the full extent of transformation. I can make myself completely animal. This is just easier to fight with."

Neji was amazed, though he didn't show it in his face. That power would make it much harder to beat him. With his senses heightened so dramatically. But then, Neji had sparred with Kiba before, maybe this would be similar to fighting the dog ninja.

Junichi and Neji circled each other again. Meeting in the middle Neji tried to land a blow with his gentle fist. Once again Junichi just pushed his hand away but this time was able to avoid the hit all together. Then Junichi swiped his claws around, trying to cut Neji or force him back.

Neji jumped back to avoid the sharp claws. He and Junichi aimed strike after strike at each other, trying to find the right opening to overpower the other.

Neji decided to use his eight trigrams sixty-four palms. It would close off his chakra openings and should force him back into a fully human form; at least that is what Neji assumed would happen.

Neji brought his hands into his starting position again. In his mind he laid out the diagram of his range, focusing in on Junichi, while he was in the center. Neji had always imagined the center to be a green Yin Yang.

"Eight trigrams sixty-four palms!"

He moved forward, almost feeling as if he was going in slow motion. He placed the first two strikes.

"Two palms!"

His hands connected sharply with Junichi's body. Junichi was pushed back flinching.

"Four palms!"

Neji hit him again, but Junichi's flesh was starting to feel strange; like it was padded.

"Eight palms!"

His hands were flying around Junichi's body, landing hits all over him.

"Sixteen palms!"

Neji began to notice that some sort of shield was surrounding Junichi's body, preventing his hits from connecting.

"Thirty-two palms!"

Neji began to watch as his strikes hit Junichi's chakra points. His eyes narrowed. There was a thin but very strong layer of chakra protecting Junichi's body.

"Sixty-four palms!"

He tried to apply more pressure to his strikes to get through the barrier.

As he finished the technique, he jumped back from Junichi. His eyes grew wide as he surveyed his handiwork. Junichi had been able to block most of his strikes. Only a few of his chakra openings were blocked.

Junichi winced and smiled at Neji.

"That was impressive."

Neji narrowed his eyes as he continued to survey Junichi's body, looking for weaknesses. He could still see the slight layer of chakra running between his clothes and his skin.

"In case you are wondering how I'm blocking your strikes," Junichi pulled up his shirt exposing his torso which was covered in thick fur, "I put a large amount of chakra into this fur. It defends from chakra attacks and makes physical attacks much weaker, keeping my body strong."

Neji stayed down and back in his defensive position. He had to think through this and develop a strategy.

Obviously Junichi would be able to defend himself well against chakra attacks. And the iron fist technique wouldn't work as well because of the fur. Neji came to the conclusion that Junichi was equally matched against him.

Neji's gentle fist techniques would not work on most of Junichi's body, and most of Junichi's speed and heightened senses he gained from his ability were seen by the Byakugan.

Neji smiled. They were equals.

So that left both of them to other ninja techniques like taijutsu, and genjutsu.

Neji and Junichi moved forward and started focusing on their taijutsu. Neji sent a strike at his face and Junichi stopped the blow with his hand. Both of them were moving so fast that Hinata was having a hard time following their movements.

After another hour of straight taijutsu Neji jumped back. Junichi had the same level of skill that Neji had in taijutsu. He could block every strike of Neji's just in time, but he was also not fast enough to land a blow. Neither of them had gained any ground on the other.

Neji was getting tired. He was breathing hard and a layer of sweat was on his forehead. Junichi was in the same condition. He still had his animal features, and Neji was still using the Byakugan.

Junichi smiled.

"It seems like we are perfectly matched against each other."

Neji didn't say anything but nodded once at him.

"Still want to continue? If we keep going we could be going forever."

Neji smirked. "Giving up?"

Junichi shook his head.

"No. But I have never been so evenly matched against someone."

Neji nodded again.

"Me either. But we still haven't used genjutsu."

Junichi nodded and grinned wider.

"True."

Junichi started making hand signs.

"Bird cyclone Jutsu!"

A small ball of chakra began glowing in between Junichi's hands, and small birds composed of chakra started flying out of it. The birds began to swarm towards Neji. His Byakugan could pick out their sharp beaks and small talons. If they got to him they would be very painful.

Neji surged his chakra into the air around him and began to spin quickly. The birds hit the spinning wall and disintegrated.

As Neji stopped and faced Junichi again, he was already doing more hand signs.

"Junichi-san!"

Neji and Junichi looked over towards Hinata to where a man had called to Junichi. It was one of the ambassadors from Faura. He was in much less formal attire than the last time Neji had seen him and he looked relaxed.

"Junichi-san. Eiji-sama wants to speak with you."

Neji rolled his eyes, it seemed like he could never finish a fight today, and Junichi sighed. As he stood out of his fighting stance the wolf ears melted back into human ears, his eyes turned brown, his fangs shrank, and his fur and claws withdrew.

"Thank you for sparring with me, Hyuuga-san."

He bowed low.

Neji bowed back.

"Thank you, Faura-san."

Junichi moved away next to the other Faura member. Junichi and the other man bowed to Hinata and then they wandered away.

Hinata walked forward until she was next to Neji.

"That was amazing."

Neji looked down at her. She still looked shocked.

"That was one of the most intense sparring sessions I have ever seen."

Neji nodded.

"I have been in worse fights, but I have never been so evenly matched. Our powers neutralized each other."

Hinata nodded and shook her head sighing.

"Well. I'm hungry and you probably are too, or will be soon. Want to go to dinner?"

Neji glanced down at her.

"Where?"

Hinata glared at him.

"I'm not looking for Naruto. We don't have to go to Ichiraku's. Ill buy since it's your last night."

Neji shook his head.

"Ill buy."

They headed off into town again and stopped at the dumpling shop to get dinner. Hinata fought with him for the bill, but he won, of course.

Soon it was dusk and he needed to head back to the compound to pack his things for the mission.

***

Back on the compound, Neji was packing what he would want on a year long trip to another village. He was bringing his kunai and weapons that had been designed for him, and a change of clothes. His bedroll and a small supply of food went into the pack as well. Ninja were trained to pack light, even for long trips.

Neji heard someone approaching from the hallway. He turned to see Hiashi enter his room with a servant trailing behind him.

"Neji, I want you to take this with you."

Hiashi gestured at the servant who came forward and offered Neji a large square box. Neji took it and set the box on the table beside his bed. He pulled the lid off after Hiashi indicated he should do so, and looked inside.

Inside was a formal kimono. It was made of the best silks, and had the Hyuuga symbol stitched into it. It was much better than the Hyuuga kimono Neji usually wore. Neji just glanced at the thing before turning back to his uncle.

"Thank you Hiashi-sama. Your generosity is most graciously accepted." Neji bowed but he spoke without any emotion in his voice. He knew that Hiashi only gave this to him so that he would impress the Faura.

Hiashi nodded and turned to leave. Just before he slipped out the door, he turned back towards Neji.

"Bring honor to the Hyuuga clan, Neji."

It was rare for Hiashi to show Neji any kind of emotion. When he had told Neji the truth about his father was the only time Neji had really seen any true feelings come from Hiashi other than anger. This time Neji saw pride burning in Hiashi's eyes.

Neji bowed his head once in acknowledgment and Hiashi left. Neji was a little shocked at what he had seen. Hiashi was proud of him? Neji didn't know if he liked that idea. All of his hard work had been against the main house, and if Hiashi felt pride, it felt, to Neji, that Hiashi was somehow claiming Neji's success as his own.

Neji shook his head and ignored the thoughts uncomfortably floating around in his head. He needed sleep. Tomorrow, four other Hyuuga clan members and himself, and five of the ten Faura would be setting out for the Village Hidden in the Sun.

He slipped into bed and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come swiftly.

***

As Neji left the compound for the main gate, Hinata slipped into step beside him. He glanced at her. He had been expecting her to come. She was a sentimental person and wanted to say goodbye to him. Neji rolled his eyes. He was not a sentimental person at all.

As they walked through the quiet village together, the sun began to peek over the horizon. He could see the gate ahead. It looked as if he would be the first one to arrive. He stopped at the gate to wait and nodded to Izumo and Kotetsu who were watching the gate.

Hinata just stood with him quietly. Suddenly, Lee came running up the street as fast as he could. Neji heard him from a mile away. He had a waterfall of tears running down his face and Gai and Tenten were close behind him.

Neji rolled his eyes and dodged the hug that Lee had tried to tackle him with. Lee stopped and looked at Neji. He raised his fist dramatically into the air.

"My youthful rival! So sad this day that we must say our goodbyes!"

Neji and Hinata just shook their heads. Tenten was smiling softly at Lee.

"Well," She said, "just wanted to say goodbye before you left for such a long mission."

Neji nodded at her. His respect for her had gone up exponentially since they first met. His training with her had taught him that she was not someone to be underestimated.

Gai sighed dramatically and placed a hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Well Lee. We should say our goodbyes and let Neji go on his youthful adventure."

Lee nodded.

"Goodbye, my youthful rival!!!"

Neji just smirked at him.

Gai and Lee wandered off to grieve and run 5000 laps around Konoha. Tenten shook her head as she followed them away.

Hinata looked at him.

"How in the world did you survive that team?"

Neji looked at her and shook his head.

Hinata smiled. They stood for a few moments longer before the rest of the traveling group showed up. Neji looked around the circle of men. They were all people he recognized but no one he knew personally. It looked like it was going to be a long trip.

As they decided on a travel formation and began to head out Neji turned back to glance at Konoha. He wasn't going to miss it, but he would miss certain things that it held. Surprising even himself, he smiled gently at Hinata before turning and following the others. He would miss the friendship he had begun to develop with her.

Hinata watched Neji walk away. His smile had eased her worries a bit about this mission. If anyone could handle any situation, it was Neji.

She turned away from the gate and headed toward town. As she passed the Hokage building, she heard yelling and someone running. She smiled. She knew only one person who could be so blatantly loud this early in the morning.

Naruto ran out of the building and stopped when he saw her. His face lit up into one of those cute smiles she loved.

"Hey Hinata-chan! Want to go get something to eat?"

Hinata giggled at him and nodded. He ran forward and grabbed her hand, towing her enthusiastically into the busy streets of Konoha.

***

AN- So this is my first fanfic and now that I have a few chapters out, Any advice? Is there anything Im not making clear or maybe taking too loing to get to? Please review!


	4. Chapter 4 The Village Hidden in the Sun

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 4

The Village Hidden in the Sun

Neji looked up over the fire to the man sitting across from him. His name was Mamoru. He was a branch family Jounin who had been assigned to go along as protection to Hitoshi, the ambassador. In the few days time that they had traveled together, Neji had found that Mamoru was a very kind person by nature, and very devoted to his duty.

Whenever Mamoru spoke of his duties he had a sort of reverence to his tone that Neji found annoying. He had long since abandoned his absolute hatred for the Hyuuga clan but a dark shadow of it still remained.

Neji looked over to where the ambassador's tent was set up. He and Mamoru were basically servants to the other Hyuuga present because they were all members of the main branch. They had hunted for them, set up their tents for them, cooked for them, and did anything else they asked. Neji had a refusal in his eyes at the first command from them, but Mamoru had caught his eye and tapped his forehead. It was a silent reminder of the curse seal that could end his life at any second if he refused one of their demands. Neji hadn't needed the reminder, but he had curbed his anger after that, begrudgingly doing what they commanded.

Mamoru noticed his glance from across the fire.

"I understand your hate for them, but this is our fate." He said.

Neji glared at him but didn't respond. He had once believed the same thing about fate, but his fight with Naruto had shaken his belief, and then a letter from his father had made him see the truth. A person could always find a way to escape from their destiny if they tried hard enough. Just as Naruto would become Hokage, just as Hinata would stand up to her father, and just as he would be free of the curse.

Mamoru shook his head sadly.

"Why can you not just accept it? You will be happier if you bow to your fate instead of fighting it."

Neji stared at him for a moment before going back to gazing in the fire. Mamoru knew his reason for hating the Main branch. In fact, Mamoru had his own reasons to resent them. His mother and father had died in the line of duty, protecting main branch members. He had grown to accept it as the fate of those with the curse seal.

Neji rose and turned from the fire.

"You'll take the first watch?" He asked as he walked towards his bed roll.

He didn't have to turn to see Mamoru nod his head and pull out a kunai to whittle away at a stick.

Neji settled into his roll, facing away from the fire. He hadn't really been tired, but he had wanted to end the conversation. He surveyed the area around him.

The fire was at the center of the site. There was one tent set up for the ambassador, and the rest were ninjas who were used to sleeping on the ground. The horses that the ambassador used were tied close by. The Faura ninjas tended to group together, while the Hyuugas did the same. There was no animosity between the groups, but there was some tension among the older ninjas who remembered hearing of the battles that were told of so vividly.

Other than this slight tension the two clans represented were becoming quite familiar with each other. They had been traveling towards the Sun village for eight days now, and they still had two more days to go. In those eight days, the Faura had been very companionable towards the Hyuuga. It was as if both groups were trying to forget the violent history they shared and start over.

Neji rolled onto his back and stared at the night sky. It was riddled with stars, as it can only look so far from civilization. They had been through a couple towns but to get to Faura as quickly as possible they had cut through an area that had little population and that only in small villages.

Tomorrow they should come to another larger city and be able to stay in an inn again. There the Hyuugas would have real servants to attend them.

Neji closed his eyes as he tried to get some sleep before he was awoken by Mamoru for the watch.

***

Neji went outside to find Mamoru near the horses. One was loaded with the luggage they had brought along, and one was saddled and ready for the ambassador to use.

Mamoru sent Neji a cheerful good morning which Neji returned with a nod.

Today was the last day of travel. The Faura said that they would reach their village before dark. Neji was looking forward to finally arriving there because then he would not be one of two branch members surrounded by several main family members. He would be away from their constant demands.

He felt slightly sorry for Mamoru because he would never be away from it. He was to be the ambassador's personal body guard the entire time he was there. Neji's thoughts were just a flicker of sympathy though, as he knew Mamoru was devoted to his duty.

Mamoru and Neji waited for the rest of the group to come out of the inn. Soon they were all gathered and ready to leave.

Usually Neji walked alone at the rear of the line, watching the back and keeping to himself. Today, however, as he stepped into position behind everyone else, one of the younger Faura ninja fell into step beside him. Neji tensed as he waited for the man to say something. But he just walked as if he belonged there. After a while Neji relaxed and ignored the man.

"I am Faura Isao."

Neji looked over at him. He was not even looking at Neji; he just walked along as if he hadn't said anything.

"Hyuuga Neji."

Neji responded and then went back to ignoring him. They walked along in silence for a while when Isao turned and looked at him. Neji ignored it until it became obvious Isao would not look away until Neji met his look. Neji turned and sent him a cold glare.

Isao did not look disturbed by this. Instead the corners of his mouth turned up and he just barely smiled. Neji narrowed his eyes and turned away. Was this man playing with him?

"You are the Hyuuga prodigy right?"

"Hn." Neji only responded with the littlest possible response.

"Have you heard anything about Faura Emori?"

Neji glanced at him again. Wasn't that the name of the Faura heir? The person Neji would be teamed up with for the next year?

"Guess not much, huh?" Isao turned forward again.

"He was my teammate when we were genin."

Neji still did not reply. This man was just talking to him for apparently no reason. It was irritating that he just spoke out like this.

"He is very headstrong, and he does what he wants. But he is very devoted to our village. He will make a great clan leader when his time comes."

Neji speculated on why Isao would be telling him this. Maybe Isao was a close friend of Emori, and he wanted to stand up for him before there was even a reason to. Neji wasn't sure.

"His sister is the same."

Neji's face didn't show that he was listening but he was. He filed away this information in his head. He hadn't known the Heir had a sister but it wasn't surprising.

"Her name is Faura Emi. She is very like her brother, very strong-willed. Both of them are very powerful ninja. You'll be joining their team for the year."

Neji didn't respond. He suddenly felt a foreign chakra up ahead of the group. It was strong enough to be a ninja. Neji glanced at the others in the line and they had noticed it was well, but hadn't changed their step.

Neji sighed. It seemed like this trip was very similar to his last mission with Hinata and Hanabi. Boring and annoying.

BOOM!!!!

A giant tree standing by itself beside the road fell loudly into the path. It had not fallen normally though as all of the ninja in their party could tell. An explosion had caused the tree to fall.

All of them were immediately on their guard. Five men were suddenly up on the fallen tree facing the party. Neji knew that they were ninja based on their clothes and weapons, though he couldn't see any identifying marks to place them from a village. All of them had their faces covered as though to hide their identity.

The two groups of ninjas just stood there observing each other for a moment. The Faura ninja had moved to the front to stand between the Hyuuga and the others. One of the Faura ninja, Neji recognized him as the man who was in charge, took a step forward.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" He said.

One of the five ninja jumped down off the tree and slowly took a few steps forward. He reached up and pulled his mask away from his face. The Faura leader narrowed his eyes. Neji could see that he recognized the man.

"What are you doing Shirou?"

"I left the village."

The Faura leader looked shocked.

"Why?"

Shirou sneered as though his confusion was stupid.

"I will not be allied with those enemies."

He raised his hand and pointed at the Hyuugas.

"I disagreed with Etsuko on this treaty, but he would not listen to me. He signed the alliance and invited friendship between us. I will not be part of a village that has anything to do with them."

The Faura man looked angry.

"That is not for you to decide. We made this choice for the benefit of the village."

Shirou shrugged.

"I know. That is why I left. I lead those who opposed this treaty out of the village. Now we live out here, and I am in control."

"Are you going to attack us then?"

Shirou shook his head.

"I wanted to explain my choice to you personally, my friend."

The Faura leader grimaced.

"I cannot be friends with a missing nin who goes against my leader."

Shirou nodded.

"I expected you would say that. I also wanted to warn the Hyuuga that their stay here will be hindered by our movements, as we are set against them."

"And we will die to protect them, as is our duty."

The man called Shirou just shook his head.

"Still obsessed with your duty."

The Faura snarled, his eyes flashing black.

"At least I know my duty."

Shirou backed up to the tree where the other ninja waited. He jumped up beside them.

"See you around."

He smiled at them and they all disappeared with a transportation jutsu.

Neji wondered why they hadn't attacked. He could sense, during the confrontation, that there were several other ninja hidden in the hills around them. If it had come to a fight the two groups would probably be on equal footing.

The only conclusion he could come up with was that they didn't want to attack their comrades. They had left the village to fight against the Hyuuga, not the Faura.

Once they were sure Shirou and his group had left, the Faura set about trying to move the tree out of the road. A couple of the Hyuuga moved forward to help but Neji and Mamoru, Neji reluctantly and Mamoru dutifully, stayed close to the ambassador to protect him.

They moved the heavy tree to the side of the road and started to move forward again. Neji noticed that all the Faura were very quiet. Most of them looked disturbed or worried.

He could understand those feelings. He remembered back when Sasuke had left the village as a missing nin. After their failed mission to retrieve him Naruto and Sakura had shades of the same expression on their faces: sorrow, worry, and doubt.

The Faura's problems were bigger though as it was possible that a large portion of their clan had left to avoid the Hyuuga. Friends would become enemies, but who would it be?

***

Later that evening, just as the sun was sinking below the hills they saw the Village of the Sun. Neji noticed that it looked rather similar to Konoha, but it wasn't surrounded by trees. It was built like one of the old cities.

It was set on a large hill, with a wall around the base. The gate was large and had a sun painted above it. As they came in the gate they were checked by guards who did a light search of their possessions to see if they carried a threat explicitly to the village. Neji rolled his eyes at them when they debated some of his and the other ninjas weapons. _We are ninja. What do these idiots expect? No weapons at all?_

Finally as they made it through into the actual village, Neji saw that it was a very bright place. Similar to their style of clothes, all of the stores were brightly colored and decorated. It was similar to walking into a festival but it was a normal day. People called out from shops advertising their merchandise. Children ran underfoot playing, and people talked everywhere.

They passed housing, restaurants, and academy buildings. The city was built like the spokes of a wheel or a spider web. The main streets all led to the center and the side streets went around in a circle.

The Faura led the group through the streets, always going up towards the main building in the center. It looked a lot like the Hokage building in Konoha but smaller and with a kanji on it for the sun. After about a twenty minute walk they came to the Faura compound.

It was a very large place, similar to the Hyuuga compound. It was surrounded by a wall, and inside, all the buildings were large and impressive. The colors were still very bright. Neji didn't know if he would ever get used to seeing the whole place in such colors, or the people for that matter.

When they entered the compound they were greeted by what looked like most of the clan. They seemed to be gathered to welcome them. Neji felt a little uncomfortable as they stared at him. Most of the older ninja stared as though he was a possible threat, like a dangerous animal sleeping in their home. Some of the women stared at him like he was a treat. He rolled his eyes slightly at this thought. In Konoha he had trouble with this as well. He would just have to, once again, gain the reputation of the man who just wasn't interested in a relationship of any kind.

The younger ninja and children stared like he was some fascinating creature they hadn't seen. They stared right into his eyes, to see their silver color for themselves. Neji never liked attention like this, so he just ignored the looks, of any kind, and walked forward as if there weren't tons of people surrounding him.

They were led into what Neji assumed was the main house, where the clan leader lived. It was the biggest house in the compound. It was three stories tall, and decorated red and gold. Above the door was the kanji for change. They left the horses and their baggage to some servants who came to take it, and they all went inside. Neji and Mamoru stayed near the rear of the party and just observed.

They were led into a hall where the clan leader and elders were gathered. They were standing together at one side of the room facing where the Hyuuga entered. Hitoshi, the Hyuuga ambassador, stepped forward and bowed to Etsuko, the clan leader. He knew some of the names because of the information Isao had given him on the way.

Etsuko bowed back.

"Welcome to our village. I am glad that our clans have been able to come to this agreement. Our alliance will strengthen our villages greatly."

Hitoshi replied.

"Thank you very much Faura-sama. We are honored to come and build the friendship between our clans."

"We have prepared a feast for your arrival, to celebrate our treaty. Please come and join us. Afterwards you can retire if you wish, I'm sure you are exhausted from your journey."

"Thank you." Hitoshi bowed again, and Etsuko bowed back.

Neji hated that he had to be there for all the formalities. He just wanted to go off by himself, and be away from the Hyuugas and the stares of the Faura. But he knew that he would be harshly punished if he just left before the feast was over. Hitoshi was very concerned with the proper way to act around others.

They were led out into a courtyard where tables were spread out and food was piled high on the tables. Neji was placed near the ambassador because he was one of the main aspects of the treaty. He was sitting across from a young man about his age who Neji assumed was the Heir.

It almost made Neji laugh out loud to see the faces of the Hyuuga Main House members when he was placed at a higher spot on the table then they were. However Neji never was the kind of person to laugh out loud, so he just smirked.

He was eventually told about the man across from him. He was Emori, the heir. Neji could tell he would be a great leader just by looking at him. He was relaxed and friendly but he also wore his authority as easily as he wore his clothes. Neji noticed that he didn't abuse that authority either. He was polite to the servants and the people who came and spoke to him.

Neji sat down and started to eat, not really noticing what he was eating, just trying to make this go faster so he could leave the public eye. He had watched Emori and figured his character for later when he would train with him. Only once had Emori met his eyes, and as his hard brown eyes stared into Neji's silver eyes, he nodded his head slightly as though greeting him.

Neji smirked a little and nodded back, once again returning his attention to his food. The other people around him sometimes tried to engage him in conversation but he answered with short, one word answers and ended the conversations quickly.

There was a woman next to him though who did not try to talk to him at all. In fact, she had talked to very few people. When Neji had been placed next to her he had sighed inwardly and set himself up to be avoiding flirtatious looks from her, as he was getting from the other women around the table. However she just sat there in silence unless someone spoke to her. She looked just as bored to be there as he did.

Soon enough people started to leave the table, so Neji excused himself from the older man next to him who was still trying to engage him in conversation, and caught a servant's eye. The man came over to him.

"Can I help you, Hyuuga-san? If you wish to retire I can show you to your room."

Neji just nodded at the man. He led him back into the main house and down a hall. There were doors dispersed down the hall at equal intervals and Neji guessed that this was where the guests were put. The servant opened a door at the very end of the hall and showed Neji inside. The room had a large bed, a desk, a walk-in closet, and a large bathroom.

The man went to retrieve Neji's things and bring them to his room. Once he had returned and brought another servant with him. The new man unpacked for Neji, who had very few things, and when he finished, he bowed.

"Neji-sama, I am Seita. I live at the end of this hallway and will be looking after your needs during your stay. Please call me if you need anything."

Neji nodded at the man and he left the room. Neji looked around his room, really inspecting it for the first time. It was decorated very brightly, just like everything else in the village, and had a very large window looking out over a field that looked like a practice field. The floor was covered in bright rugs, and tapestries with colorful pictures hung on the walls. The blankets on the bed were different shades of blue. Neji wondered if he could sleep in such a brightly colored place.

The room was much larger than anywhere he had lived at the Hyuuga compound. Though showing your guests hospitality was not an uncommon practice among the clans of importance. Some of the guest rooms at the Hyuuga compound were larger than Hiashi's private rooms.

Neji went into the bathroom. It was large and rather beautiful. The floor was tiled with colored stones and the shower and tub were set up with several different kinds of colored soaps and shampoos. Neji opened a glass bottle of blue liquid and sniffed at the opening. It smelled very good, but Neji would never wear it. He left the bathroom and went into his closet. The large space was left mostly empty as Neji's few clothing selections were lined up on one side. Neji pulled off his shirt and pants, left only in his underwear, he fell into the bed.

As he pulled the covers up over his arms and curled on his side, he realized exactly how tired he was. His exhaustion hit him and he felt like he was drowning, he could not fight off the sleep. He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

***

A/N- Sorry it took me so long to update. I had some major writers block. Ill try to update again soon. Neji's first day of training with the Faura should be fun to write. :)


	5. Chapter 5 New Team

I dont own Naruto

Chapter 5

New Team

Neji awoke abruptly to the sound of someone calling his name.

"Hyuuga-sama?"

Neji glared coldly at the ceiling. _I hate mornings, especially when annoying people wake me._ He rolled out of bed and pulled on a robe before moving to open the door. The man Seita was standing outside with his head bowed respectfully.

"Hyuuga-sama. I came to wake you for training. You are to meet your teammates in one hour."

Neji glared at Seita. At least he had given him plenty of time.

"Call me Neji, and from now on I don't need you to wake me."

He hated being called Hyuuga-sama because in his mind it was an association with the main family. He wanted to be separate from them, to not be considered one of the Hyuuga's, as he was not fully accepted as one among them.

"Yes Neji-sama. I'll return later to lead you to the training grounds."

Seita bowed his head slightly and then gestured to a maid hovering in the background. She brought forward a tray of fruit and bread and handed it to Neji. Both of them bowed and Neji closed the door. He hated servants; probably because he always felt like he had been treated like one. And maybe because he hated the way they groveled around those who were powerful.

Neji ate slowly, savoring the taste of the fruits. They were familiar to Neji but he had rarely had them in his life. Oranges, pineapple, and mangoes were not common in the Fire Country.

He stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash over him. The water had always had a calming effect on him as he seemed to let the drops wash away his worries. He felt when he stood there he was simply himself, with no Hyuuga connections, no responsibilities, and no fate. He was clean.

He stepped out and got dressed into his normal clothes. He had always preferred simple clothing, though in a place like this he stood out like a sore thumb because of the bright colors. He combed through his hair and tied it together near the end. He always tied it this way because it would stay out of his face when he fought and not fling around like Ino's hair did.

He finished up and began to gather his weapons together. He had some time so he looked after his kunai to make sure there were no defects. Just as he finished up the last kunai and was thinking about starting on his other weapons another knock sounded on the door.

This time Neji answered without glaring, but still with an extremely cold look. It was Seita again, he had come to show him the way to the training yards.

Neji moved out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He was looking forward to training with the Faura today because he had not been able to finish his battle with Junichi at Konoha. He still wasn't sure, out of the two of them, who would have won that match.

Seita led him to the very rear of the compound where there was another gate in the compound wall. Once through this Neji saw a huge field. In Konoha, the training areas had been separated because of the trees. Here there were no trees, or at least not enough to really notice. The specific training areas were separated by boulders placed at four corners, lining out what seemed to be a square. Inside, ninjas of all ages were training.

Neji could see every type of ninja from genin, training with their sensei, to Jounin, training alone. He also noticed that several of them were in their half-animal state, while some had completely become animals.

Seita led him around the side of the field towards the back, and finally to one of the larger squares. It had two ninja fighting inside and one sitting on the outside. The ninja outside was sitting cross-legged on the ground watching the match inside. The ninja inside were completely focused on their battle and they had changed completely into their animal shape.

Seita moved close to the man sitting on the ground, and Neji noticed he looked familiar.

"Isao-sama."

Isao looked back at Neji and Seita and smiled.

"Hey Neji!"

Seita bowed and moved back towards the compound. Neji looked at Isao and nodded, never having been one to return an enthusiastic greeting. Lee had made Neji much more tolerant towards them because most people would not throw themselves at him whenever they saw him. In truth, Neji really appreciated that most people had mild greetings and a sense of personal space.

He stood beside Isao, choosing not to sit beside him.

"You're really not a talkative one are you?" Isao said, laughing slightly.

Neji chose not to respond at all and turned his attention to the ninjas sparring inside. One was a lion, an animal Neji had never seen outside of art, and the other was a tiger. He had seen a tiger once before when a traveling group came through Konoha. They were entertainers and Neji had been assigned to escort Hinata and Hanabi. The tiger had done tricks and such for the audience, and Neji had felt a sense of similarity to it; trapped where it didn't want to be and forced to do for others what it really didn't want to do.

The lion was enormous. Its paws were big enough to crush a man's head with one blow. It was a golden brown color with its mane slightly lighter. From head to tail it had to be six feet long. It was very majestic and powerful. Neji surmised that this was Emori, the heir, based on the same feeling of authority he had gotten from him at the banquet the night before.

The tiger was much smaller, though still a huge cat. Neji noticed that it was quicker and more graceful than the lion. It reminded him of something. When he was small, he had sat with a woman once who had a silk scarf. The scarf would blow in the wind and move almost like water. He couldn't remember who the woman was, or even her face, but he remembered how the scarf moved because it had caught his eye so fully. The tiger moved like that; like violent silk.

He didn't know who the tiger was but he knew from watching the fight that both Emori and the tiger were very skilled fighters. Possibly even to Junichi's level of skill. As the fight began to get more intense, with claws flashing, and teeth bared, and roars ringing out across the field, Isao stood up and walked into the square.

The fight came to a stop as the ninja noticed Isao moving towards them. The lion gracefully stood on its hind legs and became Emori, while the tiger stood watching. He was wearing a green shirt with one long sleeve and one sleeve that ended at his elbow, and white baggy shorts. They reminded Neji of what Sasuke wore in his genin days. Emori laughed.

"Isao you always interrupt our fights. One of these days you have to let me beat her."

Isao grinned.

"Yeah but if I let you guys fight each other to the end every time you had a disagreement, you would be fighting all the time, and I would be bored."

The tiger pushed up onto her hind legs and gracefully changed just as she stood upright. Neji looked at her and noticed that it was the woman who had sat beside him last night. She had been quiet and Neji had gotten the feeling that she hadn't wanted to be there. Now, instead of a formal kimono, she was wearing a black shirt that tied behind her neck and left her shoulders and arms bare and black pants that ended at her calf muscle. Her hair was a shocking red-orange color, similar to the color of the tiger. It was in an intricate thick braid all the way down to her lower back.

Noticing the fact that her hair matched the color of the tiger Neji looked back at Emori and saw that his hair was a light golden brown color, also matching the fur of the lion. He also wondered why she was wearing black. Everyone else in the village, except for the Hyuugas, seemed to be wearing extremely bright colors.

"Well this time I stopped you because its time to meet our new teammate."

Emori and the woman looked at Neji standing stoically to the side. They came towards him and Emori bowed slightly, which Neji returned.

"I met you yesterday at the banquet, though we never did get a chance to talk. This is my sister, Faura Emi."

He gestured at her and she also bowed slightly, which Neji again returned.

"You are Hyuuga Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy." Emori said, looking curious.

Neji nodded. He knew his facial expression wasn't very welcoming, but he had always been like that. The only expression he was really comfortable with showing was anger, and even then he kept himself in check. He didn't like showing his feelings to others.

"Call me Neji, Faura-san."

He said it more like a request than a demand, just to show that he wasn't as stern and hateful as his face looked. He didn't want the treaty to suffer because the Faura thought he hated them.

Emori smiled at him.

"Please call me Emori then. Well, we know you are a Jounin, but that's about all we know. We are all Jounin as well. We know a little about your kekkei genkai," as he said this, they all looked straight into Neji's eyes, "but not much. The point of this training is so we can learn about each others strengths and weaknesses to make us a better team. We know about each other, so the only mysterious factor is you."

Emori smiled again at Neji. Neji felt a little like he was being measured up. He wasn't sure yet if he was up to Emori's standards, but eventually he would be. After all, in Konoha he had been a genius prodigy who stood out from all the rest.

"So, how about a match?"

Neji smirked and nodded, agreeing to the sparring match. He assumed he would be fighting Emori since he seemed to be the leader.

"What do you say, Isao. Who should fight him?"

Isao snickered.

"Prodigy against prodigy, of course."

Emi looked at Isao, but didn't say anything. Neji had yet to hear her say a word.

Emori grinned wickedly.

"That would be fun. Emi, you up for it?"

Neji was a little shocked by the announcement that Emi was also known as a prodigy. He had seen that she was a good ninja, not to mention her Jounin status. However, to be called a prodigy meant something a little more. Neji knew that well.

Emi looked at her brother with a blank look. Neji really looked at her face for the first time. _She has grey eyes. _In the two days he had been in the village, most of the people he had seen had varying shades of brown eyes. Emi had stone grey eyes. All in all she had a pretty face. Neji never really paid attention to beauty because it didn't matter to him. But he did notice when people had beautiful faces.

Emi sighed as though it was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Fine. But you'll owe me Onii-san."

"Yeah, yeah."

Emi walked out onto the field and Neji followed.

"Oh, and Emi?" Emori called, "No full transformations yet. We just want to see how he fights against a human style."

Emori grinned and Emi rolled her eyes. She seemed to keep her face void of all emotion except for annoyance for her brother.

She moved into a stance that was similar to what Junichi had used, hands raised in an almost relaxed fashion and feet apart.

Neji slid his foot back and brought up his hands into his signature fighting stance. He silently activated his Byakugan. Ever since he had become a Jounin he had trained to master the ability to activate jutsu without using words.

He surveyed her chakra network, looking at all the possible strike points and logging them away in his mind. Both of them stood there silently, waiting for the other to make a move. In his training in Konoha Tenten had always been the one to strike first. She was too impatient to wait for him to strike. Now, Emi just sat there looking alert. In fact it was the first time Neji had seen her with any kind of expression other than bored or annoyed.

Neji smirked a little.

"Ladies first?"

Emi's lip twitched like she was holding back a smirk. Suddenly she leapt forward with a fist aimed at his face. It reminded Neji of Naruto's attacks; straightforward and easy to block. He immediately positioned himself to parry the blow, but once she was just about to hit him, she was suddenly not in front of him anymore. Neji quickly blocked several hits from behind.

Anyone else would have been confused by her sudden disappearance, but with the Byakugan, Neji had seen everything. At the last second she had dodged around him aiming blows at his exposed back. The first attack had been a feint. Neji hadn't even turned to block her hits, just used his eyes to see and stop them.

He flipped around, and made moves to strike her. She easily blocked all of his blows, so Neji decided to pick up the pace a little. If he could get one of her chakra points it would seriously inhibit her abilities, at least as far as her kekkei genkai went.

He moved faster aiming strikes everywhere, mostly focusing one after the other. She got into the rhythm of the strikes and so when he aimed a strike and then in the same second sent another strike she was not prepared for the double attack. His hand hit her shoulder in what seemed to everyone else, to not be enough to even hurt.

Emi jumped back flinching and holding her shoulder. Her arm had gone completely numb and her shoulder was sore as though he had hit her with all his strength. Neji let her move back and evaluate this knew information. Emori called out from the sidelines.

"What's wrong Emi? Did that little blow throw you off balance?"

He laughed. Emi glared at him and turned back to Neji. She raised her eyebrows in silent question.

"I blocked all of the chakra flow to your arm."

Emori stopped laughing, and Emi had a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"How?" Isao asked.

"With my eyes I can see the chakra points. I can manipulate the flow of chakra anywhere in the body using my gentle fist style."

"Yikes. Better not let him touch you again Emi!" Isao called out, almost laughing. He reminded Neji of Kiba, the carefree attitude and confidence, but also a little bit of an idiot.

Emi rubbed her shoulder but was surveying Neji as though calculating her next move. As Neji watched her chakra system, he noticed that it was quickly pooling into one spot right behind her shoulders. It was growing and the coils were reforming, but on the outside he couldn't see any changes yet.

Then it was as if her body formed new bones. They seemed to be formed of chakra but still with the consistency of bones. They morphed out of her back and Neji saw what she was doing. She had evaluated his strength, and that was close range combat. So now she was going to get herself away from him. She had given herself wings.

In Neji's evaluation of their kekkei genkai he had assumed that they had only a certain amount of control over it. As he had fought Junichi in his changed shape, not only did he get more weapons through claws and fangs but he also had some unnecessary factors such as the ears and eyes. Neji assumed then that their bodies could exist in an in-between state, animal-state, and human-state.

This however was not an in-between state. She looked completely normal except for the red and black wings sprouting from her back. If it had been as he assumed, then she should have feathers everywhere and a beak or something. Neji was a little bewildered, but of course he didn't show it.

She flung her wings back and flew up into the sky. Neji watched her move as she hovered out of range of his strikes. _Assuming, from the shape of a bird and the shape of a human that the birds "arms" are its wings, then she should not have been able to do this. And even if she had been able to it should have been extremely awkward for flight. However she is moving as though she was born with those huge wings sprouting from her back. It doesn't make sense._

Neji moved so he was defending himself from the sky. She hovered, still for a moment before flinging ten kunai at him one handed. He smirked and spun, emitting chakra from his tenketsu to create the Kaiten. All of her kunai fell harmlessly away from him as he stopped to face her again.

She threw weapon after weapon at him, time after time to try to get through his defenses but she never could. After using everything from chakra stings to smoke bombs, she landed again. _Well, she has figured out that it's a bad idea to fight me close range, but I have a perfect defense for long range as well. Now it really just depends on her strengths and how she chooses to use them._

Neji watched her. She just stood there for a moment, and Neji repositioned himself to attack. He stopped himself though as he watched and once again he saw the chakra move in her body. It pooled near her heart and then spread quickly all throughout her system, covering her whole body. On the outside, feathers burst out of her skin covering her from head to foot.

She looked very strange and bulky, but Neji could see the chakra flowing through the feathers. This had to be just like what Junichi used, when he layered his body with fur and chakra as a defense. And the wings were still there for her to make a quick escape from his range if necessary. Neji knew that she had to have enormous amounts of chakra control to be able to be almost completely human with only specifically chosen attributes of a bird.

He, realizing she was going to try to fight him close range again, moved into an offensive stance and attacked her. They exchanged blow after blow, neither really gaining any ground. Neji could not hit her organs or chakra points because of her feathers, and he was too quick for her to land a good strike on him.

After a long time of close calls, but no real hits, both their chakras were getting low. She pulled the wings back inside her body to save the extra chakra, but left the feathers out. Both of them were breathing hard and standing back trying to evaluate the situation.

They could not get past each others barriers. _So it's whoever can last the longest._ They had already been fighting for an hour or so. Neji knew he could go on for quite a while longer, but he also didn't really want to be dead tired at the end of this fight. However, he had enough pride that he wouldn't simply back down.

Emi glared at him.

The feathers disappeared into her skin again and Neji wondered if she would give up. From the look on her face he wasn't sure. However, she gathered her chakra once more and changed again. This time fur sprouted from her skin, colored red and black with stripes. Her hands became clawed and her teeth became fangs. She even growled at him, trying to intimidate. Neji now saw the "in-between" state of the tiger.

She attacked, and her speed was much greater now, but Neji could also tell she was using up her chakra at a much faster rate. He assumed she was trying to end the fight as quickly as possible by using a ton of power and hoping it would be enough before she ran out of chakra and strength.

She swerved around him, swiping her claws at his exposed side. At the last second Neji jumped out of the way. She was a blur, but his Byakugan could follow her movements. She attacked over and over, never giving him a chance to strike back, only defend himself from her. In the midst of the attack, Neji decided to take a chance.

She aimed for his face and he moved just enough to stay within her range but not get struck too badly. He winced as her claws raked across his cheek, from his ear to his mouth. However, in the second that she was focused on his face, he brought both his hands together and hit her stomach, sending an explosion of chakra straight up into her lungs.

In a normal fight this would have crushed the person's lungs, but because of her fur and chakra it was as if he had disturbed the chakra flow in her lungs. She couldn't dodge the blow but in the second after his attack she used the momentum his strike had given her and she turned and raked her claws against his back deeply.

Neji had seen her attack but couldn't avoid it because it was almost instantaneously after his own attack. Neji felt her claws sink into his back, and flinched again. She had cut deep into his muscle, and now moving would be extremely painful and difficult. She, however, was in no better condition. She was down on one knee gasping as she tried to make her lungs work properly.

As he watched, her fur melted back into her skin and she fell forward onto her hands. Emori moved forward.

"I think you're done for now Emi. Can you undo this Neji?"

Neji nodded. He tried not to flex his back muscles as he moved, but it was impossible to avoid. The blood was soaking into his clothes and running down his back. He needed to find a medic Nin soon before he passed out from blood loss.

He walked over to Emi. He activated his Byakugan and surveyed the damage he had done. He reached down and used his chakra to increase the flow of her chakra again into her lungs. She gasped as she was finally able to get a clear breath.

Isao walked over to Neji smiling.

"Hey. I'm a medic Nin. You going to be nasty if I try to heal you?"

Neji raised his eyebrows. _Do you really have to ask? _He did understand why he asked though. For medic Nin, it was a common courtesy to ask another ninja before healing them, especially if you didn't know them well.

Isao seemed to get the message. He grinned and walked behind Neji, activating his chakra to have Neji's skin stitch itself back together. Neji twitched as the peculiar felling of his skin moving around was disturbing but soon the pain went away and Neji felt as though his back had never been injured. Other than his blood stained and torn clothes of course.

Isao moved around Neji again and held his hand up to Neji's face. His hand glowed with blue chakra as he healed the four cuts that were bleeding sluggishly on Neji's cheek.

As soon as Emi had caught her breath, she stood up, a little slower than before, and started walking away.

"Hey, Emi! Where are you going?"

She turned and looked back at Emori.

"I have been called to meet father after today's training."

Emori laughed cheerfully.

"What did you do this time?"

"I refused another proposal."

"Again? Father still trying to marry you off for the good of the clan, huh?"

She gazed at him with emotionless eyes.

"Well, at least you know father won't force you. He may punish you for taking so long, but he won't force you to marry someone you don't want to."

Emi nodded and turned to leave and Neji noticed a seal on her back at the nape of her neck. It was a circle with the Kanji for change inside. Neji watched her walk away. _Proposal? Is she going to be forced into an arranged marriage? And what is that seal? _

"So Neji, how about you go wash and change so you're not such a bloody mess, and then we will show you around the village? It would give us something to do, plus it would be a good opportunity to talk about today's training."

Neji nodded. He felt a twinge of pity for Emi but swiftly killed it. Ninja dealt with what was given to them. _Still, "for the good of the clan" sounds horribly familiar._ He quickly moved his mind away from his thoughts about his father, and headed inside.

***

Neji went to the arranged meeting place, outside the main house. Isao and Emori were already waiting for him there.

"Hey! I invited my sister but she is still fighting with the elders about her marriage, so she won't be able to make it."

Emori smiled. He led the way out of the compound and into the village. Neji could see many other ninja around, some Faura, but mostly of other families. Like Konoha, the Sun village was just a large mix of people living and protecting each other.

Emori and Isao led him through the maze of streets, which Neji quickly memorized, to a small restaurant they said was the best place in town. It was a dumpling shop that had tables set up outside so you could eat in the sun.

Once they had gotten their food, Emori and Isao began to talk to each other about the training.

"He certainly is strong. I haven't seen Emi beaten by anyone like that since that one time."

"Yeah," Isao replied, "but she did land a couple really good swipes on him which would have seriously limited his taijutsu if she had made it out of that attack without him hitting her."

"Yes, they seemed to be pretty equally matched."

Neji just sat there listening. He didn't feel like contributing to the conversation. Plus he was getting good information from them just by their talk. _I wonder what "that one time" was._

"So Neji, you mainly use chakra to attack and defend. Your eyes can see the network and any development of the network. You can also see the chakra points, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you see exactly what she did when she gave herself wings?"

Neji looked at him for a moment.

"Yes." _Of course._

"What happened?"

Neji looked at Emori for a little longer but he seemed to be sincerely asking him. Not just testing his knowledge or something. Neji sighed.

"She used her chakra to build extra bones in her back and attach them to her shoulder blades. Then it was just as if she were transforming. She changed that part of her back into wings that would fit over the bones she created."

Isao stared at him, looking a little dazed. Emori was deep in though, his hand over his mouth as he looked at the ground and muttered.

"What?" Neji said, "Didn't you know that's what she does?"

Emori looked at him as though remembering he was there.

"Well, yes we know, but we can't explain it. Neither can she, really. She has the best control over our kekkei genkai that we have ever heard of in our clan. Usually we cannot choose which parts of us will change. We have three phases. We call them the human state, the phase state, and the animal state. So we can be one, or the other, or in between. However, Emi has been able to develop it so she can completely control what she changes and how. She can't even explain it to us. She says that it just happens as though her body already knows how to do it."

Neji thought about this.

"She controls it, so how can she not know what is happening?"

Isao answered this time.

"She says she controls it to certain extent. I suppose a good parallel would be when you tell a dog to sit, and it sits. You controlled the situation, and you were the cause of the action, but you did not do the action yourself."

Neji considered the example. _It makes sense as a theory, but how can her body know when she does not? Is it unconscious?_

"How does she have two animals? Is that also something unexplainable?"

Isao chuckled.

"No. We all have two animals. We usually favor one though. Emi doesn't. Both her animals are useful. She has the tiger, as you saw, and a black hawk. Both are predators, so both can be used in fights. Most of the Faura have one that is greatly superior to the other. For example, mine are a wolf-hound, and a bat. If I am fighting I obviously won't choose the bat unless I'm trying to get away as quickly as possible. However the bat comes in handy on scouting, infiltration, and other missions that require not being seen at all."

"Ah. I see."

Emori, it seemed, was still thinking hard about his sister's strange ability.

"What was that seal that she had?"

Emori looked up.

"We all have one. It's a Faura seal. It doesn't restrict us in any way; it just will erase our kekkei genkai when we die. It's to protect us from our enemies who would try to steal our ability."

Neji nodded. _It's very similar to my seal, though theirs can't be used against them._

They finished eating and continued to talk about their kekkei genkai until late. When they returned Isao headed for another building, while Emori followed Neji into the main house. He lived down a hall opposite of where Neji lived.

He wandered off and Neji found his way back to his room thinking about all that he had learned about the Faura today. He pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and fell into bed. Exhaustion each night was becoming a habit. _Its part of the ninja life I guess._

_***_

A/N- Please review.


	6. Chapter 6 Forbidden

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 6

Forbidden

"Hey! Neji!"

Neji looked up from his training stance to see Emori walking towards him. It was very early in the morning and Neji was out on the training fields by himself. He couldn't sleep the night before for some unexplainable reason, so he was very irritable. However he had decided to use the time to train on his own.

Over the past week and a half, Neji had been training with his new Faura teammates. They had been doing exercises together, and sparring a lot to try and improve their teamwork so that they could work together easily when out on missions.

Throughout this week he had learned a lot about each of them. Emori was very strong and a natural leader. He never gave up is a fight and used logic to get himself out of a tight spot. In that way he reminded Neji a lot of Shikamaru.

Isao was friendly and loud, and the weakest out of the team; though he was excellent at infiltration and traps, both discovering and setting. Though he was weaker in his skills than the rest of them he had incredible endurance and could make a fight last much longer than it should have just by avoiding his opponent until the right moment.

Emi was the strongest of the three of them. She was quiet, so much so that Neji was pretty sure he had only heard her speak a total of five times throughout the entire week. She was logical like her brother, and her extended abilities with her power made her intimidating. From observing her in her interactions with her team, Neji decided that she wasn't as cold as she seemed.

Neji had seen her several times with a strange look in her eye. Instead of boredom or annoyance like he could usually see in her expression sometimes it looked like she was incredibly sad or lonely. At these times Neji had looked away from her. Obviously she didn't want him to see it. Besides, her life was none of his concern and it never would be.

He watched silently as Emori walked up to him. Taking his usual route to friendliness he nodded his head slightly without changing his expression.

"Why are you out here so early? I went to your room but obviously you weren't there."

Neji rolled his eyes at the last statement.

"I came here because I couldn't sleep last night, and I also wanted to practice some of my jutsu again."

Emori smiled.

"Well, my father has called for our team. He probably wants to send us on a mission."

Emori's father was the Taiyoukage of the Sun village, and the leader of the Faura. In Konoha, they usually did not consider the leaders of clans as possible candidates for the Hokage position, but that was probably because Konoha was one of the great ninja nations and had much more to deal with. Being a leader of Konoha and of a clan would be too much for one person.

Here in the Sun village though, the Faura were the strongest out of all the ninja and their leader was usually the strongest out of the clan. So it was not uncommon for the leader of the Faura to also be the Taiyoukage.

Neji nodded at Emori and followed him back inside the compound. They headed for the main building where the Taiyoukage's office was and Neji saw Emi and Isao standing outside waiting for them.

"Hey Neji!" Isao waved at him. "Ready for a mission finally? It feels like it's been forever."

"Hn." Neji didn't feel like gracing him with a response.

They went inside together and followed the complex hallways deeper into the building than Neji had ever gone before. They came to the center and found a rather large staircase and Neji followed the rest of the team up. Emori led the way with Isao walking beside him, talking almost nonstop about inconsequential subjects.

Neji fell into step beside Emi. She was quiet as usual and had not even acknowledged his presence yet. Her head was down as though she were watching her step, and her face held a look of deep concentration, as if she was thinking very hard.

They came to a door at the top of the stairs and knocked.

"Come in."

Neji heard a deep voice utter from the other side of the door. Emori pushed open the door and they filed inside. Neji looked around that the room and was impressed by the amount of glass that had been used.

Almost the entire room was made up of windows looking out over the Sun village. The ceiling was about eight feet over their heads and the glass extended from floor to ceiling, and around the complete circumference of the room. Opposite of the doorway was a large desk, similar to that of the Hokage's back in Konoha. Behind it sat an elderly man who was obviously the Taiyoukage.

He seemed tall and commanding, even sitting down. He looked to be in his fifties, which was old for a ninja, but not too uncommon among the Kages. His light brown hair was streaked with gray, and a few wrinkles covered his face, but all in all he looked in excellent shape.

He looked up from his paperwork and put down the letter he was reading.

"Oh good. You're here. Emori, Emi, Isao." He nodded at all of them in order and then looked at Neji. "I don't think I have met you yet. You must be Neji, the Hyuuga Prodigy."

Neji bowed slightly to acknowledge that he was correct.

"Well we are pleased to have you as our guest."

As he said this, his face retained a very stern outlook. Even though his words were kind, his face made it clear that this was just a formality.

"I am sending all of you on a mission as a team. I trust you will succeed seeing as how you are the best in our village. The Feudal Lord's daughter from the land bordering ours was kidnapped yesterday. Apparently the kidnappers are unidentified ninja who have been trying to steal an important scroll from the lord. Now they are holding his daughter up for ransom for the scroll. They gave him five days to decide before they kill her. He contacted me and requested a group of elite ninja to deal with the problem. He obviously doesn't want to give up the scroll, but he doesn't want to sacrifice his daughter's life either. Your first mission is to rescue the princess and return her to her father, unharmed if possible. Also if the opportunity should arise you are to kill the unidentified ninja. You are to leave today as soon as you are ready. Understood?"

Emori bowed slightly.

"Yes Taiyoukage-sama."

"Good. Now if you would excuse us," He looked at Isao and Neji, "I need to have a word with Emori and Emi."

Isao and Neji bowed before slipping out of the office and heading back down the stairs.

"This should be a fun mission. Saving the damsel in distress and all." Isao grinned.

Neji rolled his eyes at his exuberance. Once they hit the bottom of the stairs they heard the door open behind them and turned to see Emori and Emi come out together. Neji noticed that Emori had a reluctant and disapproving look on his face, while Emi looked sad and hurt.

She began walking down the stairs first but Emori reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Emi wait…"

"No Emori. Don't apologize. It's not your fault and it will only make me feel worse. I understand father's reasons for giving it to you, but please only use it if you have to."

Emori let go of her arm and nodded. Then he seemed to notice that Neji and Isao were still at the bottom of the stairs. He immediately forced a grin to his face and ran down the stairs. Emi came down slowly behind him.

"So we need to pack quickly and get going. We only have four more days before this girl needs a grave instead of a rescue. You guys have an hour to get ready then meet at the gate."

Isao and Neji nodded. Isao and Emori immediately went off quickly to pack and Neji turned and started to walk away as well, but glanced over his shoulder at Emi. Her back was turned to him as she walked towards her own room and her head was bowed. He silently activated his Byakugan so he could see her face.

He wasn't sure why he wanted to know, but the mystery of her power and the strange conversation that had taken place at the top of the stairs had made him curious. As his eyes changed to see everything he saw that her eyes were flooding with tears that she wouldn't let overflow. She closed her eyes, and one escaped and she quickly wiped it away. Then her hand reached up over her shoulder and slowly traced the seal on her back and then clenched her fist over it as though she was trying to remove it by pure force of will.

She lowered her hand and sped up her walk to take her to her room. Neji deactivated his Byakugan and turned and walked even more slowly to his room. He was already packed, because it was in his personality to be organized and prepared all the time. There were several times in Konoha where he had to leave on a moments notice, without the grace of packing time.

What he had seen though led him to believe that Emi's seal was not just to make sure to seal her powers when she died. Her reaction, combined with the conversation he had heard between her and Emori gave Neji the impression that the seal was something to restrict and cause pain, something that would make the person bearing it hate the mark and those who gave it to them.

He reached up and lightly touched his forehead. _That sounds uncomfortably like… _

Shaking off the disturbing thoughts that plagued him he entered his room to prepare.

***

When Neji arrived at the gate he was the first one there. Since he had already been prepared he had waited for about half the time they had been given before he went to the gate to wait. He nodded at the ninja on guard there and stood surveying the land outside of the village. To Neji, it seemed like this village wasn't hidden at all; it was at the top of a hill for all to see. But as he stood looking out from the gate, he saw that the gentle curvature of the land caused this village to almost sit in a valley, yet they were at the highest point in the valley.

Now Neji understood their choice of location. For a fortified city, being on a hill was a good strategy. But a valley also allowed for extra protection and advantage of sight. With a careful watch, they could keep an eye on the entire area, and if that failed and an enemy got through, then they were on a hill with great defenses.

The small hills that surrounded the area were covered in flowing grass that blew in the wind, giving it the effect of water rippling across an ocean. There were trees, but they were few and far between. The sun shone down at high temperatures, but it wasn't as humid as Konoha had been with the lack of large bodies of water in the surrounding area. The air had a light, dry feel about it. Neji breathed it in, trying to distinguish the exact differences between here and his home.

He heard footsteps approaching him from behind. There were people everywhere, it was a busy day so he did not jump to conclusions, however he could tell this person was aiming for him directly. He reached back with his senses, not bothering to activate his Byakugan, and he felt that he had been joined by Emi. He turned and glanced back at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. She just walked to the bench beside the gate and sat down, observing the people passing by as though he didn't exist.

She was in her ninja outfit again; the black top that tied behind her neck leaving her shoulders bare and pants that ended at her calf. She carried a small pack that fit over her back easily. He turned away from her looking back towards the landscape that stretched before him. There were still about fifteen minutes before the rest of them would show up. Undoubtedly Isao would be last; he always was.

He thought about the way she ignored him unless they were fighting. She treated everyone else with polite disdain, but she treated Neji like she hated him from the moment she met him. _Although, out of everyone I know, I am the best person to deal with something like this. I don't even care what she thinks of me._

He thought about the way his teammates would have reacted to someone treating them like this for no apparent reason. Tenten would have tried to use her exuberant personality to try to break through her dislike for her and try to become friends. Lee would have been hurt, and then used hard work and youthful intentions to try to prove himself to her.

As he went through the list of all his companions and their reactions, he noticed that she was looking at him. It wasn't like when someone continuously glances at a person out of the corner of their eye. It was full blown staring, and it was beginning to get awkward. Neji turned his head slightly and met her gaze. He made sure to keep his look questioning, not threatening. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes easily communicated the question _"What are you staring at?"_

He was surprised at her response though as she flinched and quickly turned away, a blush slightly coloring her cheeks. Neji stared at her for a moment but she kept her face turned away. He looked away from her and tried to come up with a reason for her reaction. _She was embarrassed maybe? _Well, that would make sense because he caught her looking at him. _Why did she flinch though, as though I had hurt her by looking at her?_

Neji mentally shrugged it off. In his experience, women were extremely emotional and often let it dictate their actions. It was inconvenient and often threw off their judgment, especially around men.

He heard Emori coming up behind him, calling out to the guards in a friendly greeting. Neji turned around to look at him and was a little surprised by his change in appearance. He was not wearing his usually brightly colored clothing. He had changed into more neutral colors that would not be noticed as easily when traveling. He wore a dark green shirt and black pants, and had a bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey guys! Guess we are just waiting for Isao. He would be the last one." He said while rolling his eyes.

He sat down next to his sister and stretched out, lounging as though he was taking a break.

Emi rolled her eyes at him causing Neji to smirk. Instead of reminding him of brother and sister, Emori and Emi reminded him of long-time, unlikely friends who had learned to put up with each other.

Just as the hour they had been given was up, Isao came running to the gate. He stopped, panting, and proudly stood tall, laughing.

"Just in time." He grinned broadly at the others.

This time both Emi and Emori rolled their eyes at him. Emori stood up and smiled.

"Well, ready to go?"

Isao grinned and shot his fist up into the air.

"Yes!"

Emi didn't respond at all, she just stood up and put her arms through the straps of her bag.

Neji just stood there stoically and nodded at Emori.

Emori chuckled.

"Alright, let's go. We are heading straight for the Lord's castle. There he will give us some information on the ninja we are fighting."

Isao nodded enthusiastically, and Neji had to smirk again. He reminded him so much of someone from back home it was ridiculous.

They headed out the gate together and sped into a run, quickly covering ground to take them to the place of their mission.

***

Hinata gently placed the scroll they had been sent to retrieve on Tsunade's desk. It had been stolen from Konoha while in transport and Hinata and her team had been sent to steal it back before the enemy could make us of the information inside.

Tsunade nodded.

"Good. Was there any trouble?"

Hinata nodded.

"They had good defenses but we were able to break through. Hideki was injured but I was able to heal him. Other than that there were no difficulties."

Tsunade smiled.

"Good work. Your team will have a little bit of a break before your next mission."

Hinata and the rest of them bowed and left the office.

Once outside, they all headed towards the Hyuuga compound. Three members of the team were Hyuugas and so were obligated to report their mission success to Hiashi.

Hinata had been named the leader of the team, even though she wasn't necessarily the strongest. Junichi could beat her every time in a sparring match, but she could hold her own with Hiro and Hideki.

Her father had put her in charge so that she could experience leadership, as he said. She had been nervous at first, to take responsibility for her teammate's lives, but Naruto had talked her into trying.

Hiro and Hideki were also of the Main Hyuuga branch and had been chosen to be on her team because they were approximately her age. They were both Jounin, and Hiro was ANBU. She had known them for most of her life but had never really spoken to them. They were both a year younger than her, and had become Jounin a year after her.

Once she had gotten to know them, she had learned that Hideki was friendly with almost everyone, and Hiro was quiet, and reserved. She got along well with Junichi who was the only one on the team who was older than her. She had worried at first that he would be offended that someone younger and less skilled than he was would take command of the team, but he seemed to accept it gracefully.

Once they got to the Hyuuga compound they went into the main building and headed for Hiashi's office. Once knocking and being told to enter they all filed inside. After repeating most of what they had told to Tsunade Hiashi dismissed them again.

Hiro and Hideki went off to speak to their own families and tell them that they had returned. Junichi went to report his return to the Faura ambassador, so Hinata was left alone. She went to her room to clean up and change. After a mission she always felt better after cleaning up in her own room.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance she went out of the compound. As soon as she left the gates an orange blur collided with her and knocked her to the ground. She squeaked as she fell, but laughed when she saw it was Naruto hugging her tightly.

"Tsunade told me you just got back so I came to see you!"

Hinata hugged him back warmly. No one could welcome her home like Naruto could. He stood up and offered her a hand to help her up. She gladly accepted and stood up, but didn't let go of his hand. He smiled at her happily.

"How about we go out to eat? I'm starving."

Hinata laughed.

"Naruto, you're always hungry."

Naruto grinned again.

"My treat?"

Hinata smiled warmly at him and nodded.

"Yes!" He yelled punching his fist into the air, "Ichiraku's!"

He darted off, towing Hinata along behind him.

***

They were sitting down at the counter when they heard someone speak to them.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Hinata turned to see Junichi standing outside. She smiled at him and gestured with her hand for him to join them. Naruto looked up at him.

"Hey Junichi! How's it going?"

Junichi shrugged. Junichi and Naruto had become friends in the short amount of time that they had known each other. It made Hinata happy to see them so friendly.

"Same as usual, I just got hungry and felt like going out."

Naruto grinned.

They ordered their food and talked about random subjects for a while, Hinata feeling extremely happy to be back at home.

"I wonder how Neji-niisan is doing." Hinata said thoughtfully.

Naruto shrugged in his normal carefree way.

"Probably fine. You know Neji. He just does what he wants and anyone who stands in his way he beats to a pulp. Except for me of course."

Hinata laughed and then teased him.

"That was a long time ago Naruto. Are you sure you can still beat him?"

Naruto shrugged.

"He is much more powerful than he was, but then again so am I. It would be interesting to see who would win now."

Hinata smiled gently. _He is so much more mature than he used to be. I love him so much._

Junichi smiled at them.

"Well, I know the team he was supposed to be put on. He should be ok. The leader is the heir, Emori. He is a nice guy. The other two team members are Emi, the heir's sister, and Isao, who grew up with Emori. If he is as strong as you guys say he is then he should be alright. The only one he really has to worry about being able to beat him is Emi."

Naruto smirked.

"I don't think Neji can be beaten by a girl."

Hinata punched him sharply in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Ok ok! Whatever. I give."

Hinata smiled at him again and Junichi laughed.

"Emi is strange though. She isn't like the rest of us. She has control over the Kekkei genkai that we can only dream of."

Hinata looked at him because as he said this he almost sounded sad.

"What do you mean she has more control?"

"She can influence the phases; go between them instead of going from one or the other."

Hinata looked down at her food. Junichi had explained the three phases to her before so she knew what he was referring to, but according to his explanation it was something that was definite. In her head she had related it to Sasuke's Sharingan. Either they were activated, or they weren't. There was no in-between stage.

"How does that work though? Shouldn't that be impossible?"

Junichi shook his head.

"We don't know that ourselves. She is the first to be able to control the power this way. But…"

Junichi stopped speaking; seeming to hesitate with what he was going to say.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

"Well… Let's just say that though she does have a lot of control over her power, she also loses a lot of control at the same time."

Hinata tried to understand what he was saying and came up short.

"I don't understand."

Junichi looked at her.

"Unfortunately I cannot tell you any more about it. It is forbidden."

Hinata looked down again. She knew all about the things a clan could forbid. After all she was the Heir so she was in on some of the biggest of the Hyuuga secrets. Having told some of the details surrounding this secret meant, in her mind, that Junichi had come to trust her more than just allied ninja. He trusted her as a friend.

Hinata continued to think about the girl named Emi for the rest of the night. _How does one gain control and lose control at the same time?_

It really didn't make sense to her, but since she wasn't going to see this person in the near future as far as she knew, she let her mind calm and focus on spending time with Naruto.

***

A/N- Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7 Emi's Concern

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 7

Emi's Concern

Neji stood behind the others as they waited in the courtyard for the Daimyo. There were soldiers stationed around the area, all of them on high alert. Neji could tell that they were taking every precaution since the princess had been kidnapped.

As they stood there Neji once again had to ignore the feeling of being stared at. Everyone who had seen them come in was trying to get a look at the ninja who had come; especially the strange one with the white eyes.

The Daimyou came out of the main house with an escort of body guards. He was a large man who was dressed in fine silk which was decorated lavishly with bright colors and designs. It made Neji dislike the man as it appeared he spent more money on his own appearance and protection than on his people.

Emori stepped forward and bowed to the Daimyou, and the rest of the team followed suit.

"Greetings." The daimyou said as he bowed back slightly. "Thank you for coming so swiftly. My captain here, Baku, will give you all of the information you may need. He will also escort you to the last place my daughter was seen."

The Daimyou bowed his head and left; leaving Baku standing in front of them. He was tall and well-built. His dark hair was tied high at the back of his head, and he had a katana hanging at his waist. His face looked stern but also seemed as though he could smile at any moment.

He walked down the steps towards them and stopped in front of Emori.

"Hello. I am Baku as you heard. May I have your names?"

Emori gestured at each of them in turn. "I am Emori. This is Emi, Isao, and Neji."

They had decided to leave out last names as the Hyuuga name might raise questions and doubt among clients.

Baku nodded at each of them politely. He settled into a crouch and began drawing in the dirt.

"This is the area where the princess was taken. She was visiting her mother's grave shrine when my men were killed and she was taken hostage. This is the shrine, and the surrounding clearing is not very big. The clearing is surrounded by trees."

He turned and pointed up a small mountain where Neji could see a small grove of trees. He quickly and silently activated his Byakugan and surveyed the area. It was just as the man had said. The shrine was rather small and the surrounding area was only about a quarter mile in diameter. He closed his eyes and stopped the chakra flow and turned back to Baku.

Baku was staring at him intensely with a questioning look on his face.

"And that was…?"

Emori laughed, trying to brush it off as nothing.

"He can see father than the rest of us. That's all."

Baku quirked his eyebrow but didn't say anything else about Neji's strange eyes.

"Ok. Well the princess was taken by about ten men. They left a scroll at the shrine with the message about the ransom. We have three days before the deadline."

Emori nodded.

"Ok. Do you have a piece of clothing or something that the princess would have used or worn recently?"

Baku looked at him suspiciously.

"What in the world do you want that for?"

Emori gestured at Isao again.

"He is a wolfhound. He can track her scent."

Baku looked at Isao and then looked back at Emori. Then he glanced at Neji.

"Sure, hang on." He turned and walked back towards the main house when Neji heard him mutter, "Ninja sure are strange people." Neji smirked.

A few minutes later Baku returned to them holding a pink cloth that could have been a sash or something similar. He handed it to Isao who sniffed at it before handing it to Emori.

"So now if you're ready, Ill take you to the shrine." He turned to walk towards the gate.

"There is no need for you to lead us." Neji said. "I have seen the shrine, I know where it is."

Baku looked at him for a long moment, the shook his head.

"Alright Ill stay here then. That way I won't be in your way. The ninja who took her are skilled. I'm not sure how you would rate their skill level but we always have a hard time dealing with them."

Emori nodded and smiled at the man.

"Don't worry. We'll bring your princess back."

With that the team headed out of the gate and Neji took the lead to take them to the shrine.

***

All four of them jumped down from the branches of the trees into the clearing where the shrine was located. It was getting to be dusk and the trees were casting long shadows. They were not staying hidden because Neji had already surveyed the area and no one was there.

Emori crouched down and pulled the pink sash out of his bag again. Isao took off his own bag and handed it to Emori. Then he changed into an enormous light brown dog. His back came to Neji's waist and his head almost reached Neji's shoulder. _He looks just like Akamaru but with different coloring._

Emori held the cloth out for Isao to smell. Once he had taken a couple good breaths he turned away from the fabric and started sniffing around the shrine. Emori put the sash back into his bag and put Isao's bag over his shoulder.

"Now we just wait till Isao picks up her scent, then we should be able to follow."

Neji nodded.

"This should be easy," Emori said, "Just taking out some ninja and rescuing a girl."

Emi glared at him with enough force that Neji was sure if it had been physical, Emori would have fallen over.

"Don't take this lightly nii-san. This girl's future rests in our hands. I will not see us fail because of your carelessness."

"Relax Emi. I won't be any less serious; I just think we won't have any problems."

Emi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms stubbornly.

Neji watched Isao look for the scent, pretending to ignore the arguing between siblings. He had noticed that Emi was a lot more relaxed when they were away from the village. Then Isao suddenly stopped in one spot, sniffing the ground intently; then he looked up and caught Neji's eye, the only one paying attention to him. He nodded his great dog head, scratching at the ground.

"He's found something." Neji said, interrupting the glaring contest between brother and sister.

They both looked towards Isao and moved to where he was.

"You found the right trail?" Emori asked.

Isao nodded again.

"Well lead the way. Tonight is the end of the second day so we have three days to find her before her life is over." Emi threw another glare at his words. "So make sure you follow carefully."

Isao growled a little at the implication that he would not be careful, but turned and put his nose to the ground again moving forward into the trees.

The team followed Isao's form all night as they looked for the place the princess was being kept. Neji kept his Byakugan activated to look for any ninja who might be hidden in the leaves.

Neji suddenly saw something up ahead. It was a small house built long ago and abandoned. Now it was once again inhabited by a camp of fifteen ninja. Inside the house Neji could see a girl tied to a post. She seemed unharmed, but Neji could see tears streaming down her face.

He held up his hand to give the ones behind him a warning that he had seen something. Isao, who was ahead, heard them stop and looked behind to see Neji signaling him back to join them.

"I can see their camp." He said to them. "They are still far enough that they cannot hear us, but if we get much closer we will need to be very quiet, they are keeping a strict watch."

Emori nodded.

"Where are they?"

Neji pointed in the direction he had seen them. "About a mile that way. There are a total of fifteen ninja in the entire camp. One is in the house with the princess, five are on watch and patrol, and the other nine are sleeping"

Emi looked him dead in the eye for the first time since he had met her.

"You saw her? Is she alright?"

Neji looked at her concerned face for a moment before answering.

"She seems fine. I couldn't see any injuries. But I could tell she was very afraid."

Emi stared at him for a moment before looking away, nodding.

"Since you saw the camp, what would you recommend for an attack?" Emori asked.

Neji thought for a moment.

"I would get into the house before we alert the other ninja to our presence. If we attack outside first and the ninja inside is made aware of us, he will probably kill the princess before we have a chance to get to her."

Emi nodded.

"Does the house have any windows?" She asked.

Neji turned back towards the camp and activated his Byakugan. He scanned the house thoroughly.

"There is one window, but not in the room where the girl is. The house is made up of two rooms. The back room has no window, and that's where the girl is, with the ninja. The front room has a window with no covering, but to get to the back room from the window you would have to pass in front of the door which is open and leads out to where the other ninja are."

"Hmmm." Emori said. "Can you see any identifying marks on them?"

Neji scanned all the ninja in the group. "They are all dressed similarly in brown pants and green shirts. They all carry normal ninja weapons, except for one who carries a huge sword. He is the one with the princess. I don't see any identifying marks on any of them."

Emori sighed. "Yeah I figured it be like that."

Neji turned his eyes away from the camp and back towards his teammates. He saw that Isao was now back to human and taking his own bag from Emori again.

Emi looked at her brother. "What do you think, captain?"

Emori rolled his eyes at the title but didn't say anything.

"We should have someone sneak into the house through the window, kill the ninja guarding the princess and get her to safety before we take on the others."

"I think both Isao and I should go for the princess." Emi said. "We can both use our smaller forms to get in, then one of us can protect her while the other kills the ninja. You and Neji can start the fight outside once we get in so that the ninja inside cant get any reinforcements. Isao and I will get the girl away while you and Neji finish off the rest."

Emori thought about her version of the plan for a moment.

"What if after you get out with the princess, Isao joins my fight and Neji goes with you?"

Emi raised her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Because Neji will be able to watch for danger and get the princess to safety without running the risk of accidentally coming across enemies."

"Ok that makes sense."Isao said. "So Emi and I break in; she nabs the girl, I kill the guy; outside you and Neji cause the distraction of the day; I join you outside in an extermination mission; Neji leaves with Emi to get the princess to safety; we all meet up later for our paycheck. Did I get everything right?"

Emori nodded. "Pretty much got the jist of it."

Emi rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Ok so when do we put this plan into action?" She asked.

"Well," Emori said, "we could watch them for a while and see when they change watches and stuff, just to make sure we don't miss anything."

Emi glared.

"So in the meantime that poor girl has to sit there in terror while we scout it out better than we already have?"

Emori glared back.

"It was just a suggestion. What do you think Neji?"

"The plan seems sound to me; a little unorthodox but I don't see any problems with it. We shouldn't have to watch them for much longer; when I was watching them earlier they had just finished changing shifts."

"Good." Emi said looking satisfied.

***

One hour later they were all positioned outside the camp, ready to make their attack. Emi and Isao were sitting up in a tree; Emi in the form of a black hawk with some red feathers on her head and the tips of her wings, and Isao in the shape of a small brown bat clinging upside-down to the branch.

Neji and Emori had set up several paper bombs to be sent into the camp when they needed the distraction. They would not be anywhere near the house, but would hopefully cause some panic in the camp of ninja.

Neji watched the activity in the camp and looked at Emori and nodded, signaling that now was the time to go. Emori looked up at Emi and gave the silent signal to move forward. She launched herself forward, Isao close behind her, and silently approached the house.

Neji watched everything with his Byakugan activated. Emi flew in the window and landed on the floor on the opposite side of the room, past the open door. Isao followed her there and they quickly changed back into human shape. Both of them pulled their weapons and crept towards the door to the back room.

The problem here was that the door was closed and the ninja was directly opposite the door. So they could not sneak into the room; they would have to barge in and end this swiftly as possible. Emi pressed her ear to the door, listening to the actions on the other side. She leaned away and gestured to Isao that they would move forward on her signal.

They moved to either side of the door; Isao with one hand on the door ready to push it open and the other holding several needles, and Emi with kunai in both hands. She held up her hand and then gestured to Isao.

Isao threw open the door and ran in as quickly as he could, throwing the needles precisely at the man's neck where it would kill him immediately. The needles sank into the skin and his face was frozen in a look of shock. He hadn't even had time to reach for his huge sword.

Emi came in and met eyes with the princess, gesturing for her to be quiet. She moved forward and cut through the rope tying the girl to the pole, and she gently removed the gag from her mouth. She leaned forward and whispered into the girl's ear, explaining who they were and what they were going to do to get her out of there.

Then she looked up at the wall, in the direction of Neji's gaze and waved a little, telling him that now was the time for distraction. Neji looked away from Emi and back to Emori who was looking from the camp to Neji's face, trying to discern whether his sister and friend were in any danger.

Neji nodded at him, giving him the sign for success. Emori sighed silently and gave the signal for distraction with a question on his face. Neji nodded and gave the hand sign meaning 'now'.

Emori grinned and pulled the string that was attached to the paper bombs around the area. Neji could see the rigged kunai fly silently into the campground and he prepared to go into the fight.

Boom!

The sound of five paper bombs going off was almost deafening to someone not prepared for it. The ninja in the camp scrambled to their feet as quickly as they could, but some fell by Neji and Emori's hands before they could stand all the way up.

Neji and Emori had rushed into the camp to quickly remove some of the ninja from the picture before they could get organized. In the confusion of the attack the ninja did not notice Emi, with the princess on her back, slip out of the door and into the trees. Isao came out of the house throwing kunai and other sharp objects. Neji landed a few more blows on the ninja who were just gathering themselves together before he disappeared in the smoke to follow Emi.

He moved quickly away from the camp, using his eyes to track her movements. She was not going full speed as she was waiting for him to catch up. He put extra chakra into his legs so he could run at his full speed through the branches of the trees. He quickly caught up to her.

The princess had her face hidden in Emi back as they ran, and Emi looked at Neji.

"We need to find a safe place to rest. She hasn't eaten since they caught her."

Neji could hear the concern for the girl in Emi's voice so he didn't protest. He scanned the area ahead of them until he found a place that looked good.

"About a mile ahead of us there is a small cave. It's empty, and well hidden. We can go there for now."

Emi nodded and fell behind Neji. He led the way to the cave and went inside, scanning the place once again with his eyes. He waved to Emi who was waiting hidden, and she joined him there. She gently lowered the girl to the ground.

Neji looked at her again. Her face was white but her eyes were red from crying. She was shaking all over and she didn't look like she could support herself at all. Her clothes were dirty and ripped in places, but she was sufficiently covered to not worry about her being cold in the summer heat. Neji opened his bag and slipped out a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders anyway.

Emi sat in front of her and gave her a water bottle to drink from.

"What's your name, Princess?"

The girl took a drink from the bottle with a trembling hand, and wiped her mouth gently before saying in a very quiet voice, "Sayuki."

Emi nodded and handed her a roll from her own bag. Sayuki looked at both of them while she ate, from Emi who was sitting in front of her, to Neji who was at the mouth of the cave watching the outside.

"Who are you?" She asked timidly.

Emi gave her a soft look, it was the most tender look Neji had ever seen on Emi's face.

"We are ninja from the Sun Village. I am Emi, and this is Neji."

Sayuki looked back and forth between them.

"We were sent by your father to rescue you."

Sayuki's eyes filled with tears again as she began to sob. Emi looked a little panicked but she awkwardly put her arms around the younger girl and patted her back comfortingly. Kunoichi were trained to push back their emotions, so dealing with others emotions was sometimes awkward.

"It's all right. You're safe now."

Sayuki nodded against Emi's shoulder.

"I know but I can't stop crying. I was so scared. I thought Chichi would have no choice but to give them the scroll."

She sobbed even harder and Emi just kept holding her and rubbing her back to keep her calm.

Neji looked back to where the camp was. He could see that Emori and Isao were doing well against the ninja. He would say that all of the ninja were chunin or genin as their fighting skills were not very impressive.

They had defeated nine of the fifteen and were now fighting the more talented of the group who had been able to defend themselves. Emori and Isao were each fighting three of them and it seemed that they were struggling to defeat them. They had a few injuries, though mostly shallow, they still caused limitations on their fighting and made them tired. _They are going to need help to end this quickly._

Neji looked back at Emi and she met his eyes.

"The others are struggling." He said with a straight face.

"How many are left?" she asked.

"There are only six left alive but they are at least chunin if not Jounin. They are skilled enough to present a challenge to them; though alone they would not be able to stand against them."

Emi looked at the girl who was not crying anymore but still shaking in her arms. Then she looked back at Neji.

"One of us has to go back."

He nodded.

"But who?"

She looked at him for a moment. He could see in here eyes that she was torn between wanting to help her brother and wanting to help the girl clinging to her.

"You go. She needs me right now, and I can defend us if we are attacked. You can see if I have any problems from there too."

Neji nodded at her and jumped up into the trees, moving quickly back to the camp.

When he got there he jumped straight down and landed several gentle fist blows to the closest ninja, who immediately fell to the ground paralyzed.

Emori nodded at him as he fought the ninja off. Another turned to see Neji standing there with his comrade at his feet. He rushed at Neji aiming his fists at Neji's face and torso. Neji easily blocked the man and began closing off his chakra points. The ninja flipped back away from Neji and quickly threw two shuriken stars at him. He dodged them and moved in closer.

The ninja had figured out that Neji was a close range fighter and so he was keeping his distance. Neji continuously pushed forward to get close to him but he stayed out of range. Neji threw a couple of kunai back at the man just to see his defenses. The ninja threw his own kunai to block the knives.

Neji stopped moving forward. He and the other ninja just stood facing each other. The other man was trying to figure out what Neji was trying to do, why he had stopped. Neji took one step forward, and the man was in range for his jutsu.

Neji pictured in his head the green ying yang as he slid himself into his fighting stance. The other man tensed but didn't move yet. Suddenly Neji flew forward.

"Eight trigrams One Hundred and Twenty Eight palms!"

Once again Neji felt he was moving in slow motion as his hand came into contact with the mans body, slamming chakra in and disrupting the flow.

"Two palms!"

"Four palms!"

"Eight palms!"

The man was now staggering backwards under Neji's attack. He could not defend himself at all.

Neji continued his attack until he had closed every one of the chakra points in the ninja's body. Then when the jutsu was over, the ninja fell to the ground dead as all his chakra had been blocked. Neji turned back to the others. Emori had just finished off the last of his opponents and Isao was still battling with one.

Emori threw a kunai at the man, and it sunk itself deep into his thigh. The ninja winced but didn't cry out. It was just enough of a distraction for Isao to stab him in the chest, stopping his heart.

Emori and Isao were both panting from the hard work but Neji breath had barely sped. Emori looked at him.

"Thanks for the help, but where is Emi?"

Neji looked through the trees as he saw the cave. She was still sitting there with Sayuki who had leaned her head against Emi's shoulder and fallen asleep.

"She's fine. Ill lead you to her."

Isao looked around.

"Should we clean this up?" Isao asked.

"No. We need to get the princess to the Daimyou. It still isn't safe out here."

Neji nodded, agreeing with Emori. Isao shrugged and they headed off into the trees towards the cave.

Once they got there Emori carefully picked up the princess, and Emi stood up, gently massaging her shoulder which had fallen asleep under the princess's head. Neji scanned the area and lead the way back to the castle.

They got to the gate just as the sun was peering over the hills. The guards called out, announcing their presence and the return of the princess. She was now sleeping in Emori's arms as he carried her into the courtyard.

Baku ran forward and took the princess from him. He looked very concerned as he rushed her into the house where Neji could see she was surrounded by maids who would take care of her from now on.

Baku came back outside. This time he had a small smile on his face.

"That was quicker than we expected."

Emori laughed.

"Well the Daimyou asked for elite ninja. That's what he got."

Baku smiled.

"She seems alright. What happened?"

Emi stepped forward.

"I looked for injuries on her and she is unharmed for the most part. She has a few bruises on her arms from the ropes but other than that she is fine."

"We attacked their camp after we had secured the princess's safety. We made sure to get her out of there before she could be put in any more danger, then we took the ninja out of the picture. They are dead." Emori said.

"Where was their camp?"

Neji was the one who answered this time.

"It is on the other side of the mountain, around an old abandoned house."

Baku nodded.

"I know the area. We used to have a hermit who lived there, who would come to town every once in a while. But he died over a year ago."

Emori gave back the sash that they had given to him for Isao.

"We didn't get a chance to clean up the mess so you might want to send some people to get rid of the bodies. I think one might still be alive so you might even be able to question him."

Neji suddenly remembered the man he had paralyzed without killing. _I wonder if he can even still talk._

Baku looked like he had been given a treat.

"That's great. I have wanted to get my hands on one of those bastards for a long time."

Emori nodded. Then the Daimyou came rushing out of the house. He bowed low to them as tears ran down his face.

"Thank you so much!" He said quickly before he rushed back inside to be with his daughter.

Isao laughed a little and Neji smirked. _What a silly looking man._

As they turned to leave, Emi caught Baku's arm.

"Can you tell her I said goodbye?"

Baku looked at her intense face.

"Yeah I'll tell her."

Emi looked relieved.

"Thank you."

As they walked out the gate Emori looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Why does it matter if you say goodbye to her? She probably won't even remember what we look like. She was asleep most of the time."

Emi slugged her brother's shoulder and he winced.

"Shut up Nii-san."

***

A/N- Sorry this chapter took me so long. I really had a hard time thinking up their first mission. If anyone has any suggestions for future missions please tell me your ideas but Im coming up short. Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far. =) Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8 Disappearance

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 8

Disappearance

Hinata walked through the streets before heading home. She was leaving for a mission tomorrow and their team would be gone for quite a while. The plan was for the mission to take two weeks minimum; after that they would do their best to get home sooner.

The mission was to deliver some scrolls to the Kazekage and receive some in return; and along with that, doing some diplomatic work in Suna. The contents of the scrolls were kept secret even from the team and if they were captured they were to do everything in their power to make sure that the scrolls didn't fall into enemy hands, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

Hinata, as she walked, thought about all the past things that had happened in her life in Konoha. How she had become a genin and met Naruto. How she had worked hard in the chunin exams to become stronger and how her relationship with Neji was better after the fight. How she had passed the Jounin exams and become one of the many strong kunoichi in Konoha.

She smiled as she watched the sun sink below the trees. The various shops were closing their doors and people were starting to wander inside. Hinata passed the Yamanaka flower shop and waved to Ino as she passed the window.

Hinata wandered slowly towards the Hyuuga grounds and noticed there was a cat following her home. It looked rather mangy and underfed but she held out her hand to it to see if it would let her pet it. The cat shied away, unused to human attention that went in a positive direction.

Hinata watched it follow her for a little longer thinking that she should set out some food for it to have later. Before she could even tense up a shadow rose up from the ground and pinched the nerve in her spinal cord that sent her straight into unconsciousness.

***

"What do you mean she isn't here?" Tsunade asked all three of them.

Hiro and Hideki fidgeted a little but Junichi shrugged.

"She never showed up. We looked for her but couldn't find her."

Tsunade glared. "How hard did you look?"

Junichi didn't flinch at all under her stare but met it with indifference to her hostility.

"I changed to use my other senses to track her. Last night she never came home. I found her scent wandering through the village; she was alone, then her scent got mixed up with someone else and disappeared completely."

"Did you recognize the scent at all?"

Junichi seemed to hesitate.

"Well?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes, it is familiar to me. He is of the Faura Clan."

Hideki and Hiro both looked at Junichi shocked, then looked at each other with foreboding looks. Junichi knew of the history with Hinata and other clans. It was one of the reasons he was followed so closely whenever he was with her. In Konoha there were several who followed him, but on missions Hiro and Hideki were the ones to keep a close eye out. Hinata knew nothing of this of course.

"He is not one of your party?"

"No, but I do know him. He is one who rebelled against the idea of forming an alliance with the Hyuuga Clan."

Tsunade folded her hands together as she thought.

"Shizune!"

Shizune came running in balancing papers with Tonton trailing behind her heals.

"Yes?" She seemed a little breathless.

"Get Shikamaru's team. They will be taking over Hinata's mission as soon as possible. Also get Naruto up here for me."

Shizune ran out of the office.

Hiro spoke up. "What are we going to do about it?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.

"You're going to look for her of course. I don't think Hiro and Hideki are the right people to lead the team, but I can't put Junichi in charge, so I am placing Naruto as team leader until she is found."

Junichi, Hiro and Hideki all raised their eyebrows.

"Naruto?" Junichi asked.

"What about him?"

"I would have imagined you picking Sai or Sakura before Naruto."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, their leadership skills may be better in general; but Sai is too impersonal for this kind of mission, and Sakura would panic because Hinata is her close friend. Naruto would force himself to be serious because he wants her back so much. Understand?"

Junichi nodded. Naruto would get the job done quickly and quietly.

***

Hiashi paced incessantly in his office. He had found out about his daughters disappearance little more than an hour ago and he still was thinking about the implications. He had sent a letter to the Faura demanding answers and an explanation for the mysterious scent Junichi had found.

They had yet to send a reply but he was sure they would send one within the day because it could point to a Faura betrayal of the treaty between their clans.

Junichi had assured him that the Faura wouldn't move against the Hyuuga now. The treaty had been signed and the head of the Faura was one of those who had lost his family to the wars with the Hyuuga. He was tired of the fighting and bloodshed. He would not betray them now. But in Hiashi's mind, anything was possible for a clan head who wanted power, revenge, and leverage.

He had been told of the mission to go out to find Hinata but he did not approve of the Hokage's selection of team leader. Naruto was irresponsible and dangerous. Not to mention he had the Kyuubi sealed in his body. But he could not protest the Hokage's choice because it was considered an emergency for the village. Invasion of a hidden village had to be taken very seriously; especially if someone was taken.

Hiashi had put Hanabi under special protection and had a secret alert system set in place that would reveal if she ever left the village and which direction she was headed. She had been upset but had not argued to his face. Also the Faura who were staying with the Hyuuga, Eiji and his men, were watched and asked to stay inside the compound.

Eiji had also come in to meet with Hiashi and explain that the Taiyoukage would never be behind this act. He said that it would be illogical for the Taiyoukage to move against the Hyuuga now. Hiashi, however, did not take comfort in his words.

Several hours later a missive was delivered to the Hyuuga compound. It was a return letter from the Faura.

-Hyuuga-sama,

The unfortunate incident involving your daughter was not an act of mine. However it did involve people from my village. You may have heard that since our recent treaty with your village, some of my people have turned on our village and now live outside in protest of the Hyuuga here. It seems they have taken the initiative to, in their words, "fix the problem for me". They sent me a letter saying that if I did not break off the treaty with the Hyuuga within 7 days time, they would execute the Hyuuga heir. I am sending out my own people to search for her; people I know to be trustworthy; your nephew being among them. I hope we can come to a resolution to this problem. And I hope your daughter may be found.

Faura Etsuko

***

Neji woke to the sound of pounding on his door. He death-glared the ceiling but rolled out of the bed he had just fell asleep in. He opened the door and transferred his death-glare to the person on the other side. It was Emori.

"We need to leave now."

Neji didn't say anything just continued to glare menacingly.

"I know, I know. You just went to bed therefore you are incredibly more irritable than normal. However we have an urgent mission and it involves you personally. Evidently the traitors outside our village went and kidnapped the Hyuuga Heir."

Neji was immediately awake and fully alert.

"They kidnapped Hinata? When?"

"Well according to what Junichi said she was taken straight from Konoha the night before she was to leave on a mission. They didn't notice she was missing until the next morning when she never showed up. Then Junichi followed her scent and found where she had been taken. It seems like someone knocked her out and took her. It wouldn't have been hard for one of us. In our animal form, our chakra levels are very easily subdued. Anyone could have snuck up on her."

Neji kept calm indifference on his face, but in his head he was reeling through all the possibilities.

"Why did they want her?"

"They want us to end the treaty or they will execute her to ruin the goodwill between us."

Neji felt his heart almost stagger at the thought of Hinata executed. His face remained calm but inside he was furious.

"Ill be ready in five minutes."

***

Neji ran out of the building with his pack over his shoulder and met up with the rest of his team outside. They briefly went over their area of land to search and they set off. As they ran they quizzed Neji about Hinata.

"So what does she look like?"

In his anger Neji wasn't thinking very rationally.

"What does that matter?"

Isao flinched a little at the harshness of his voice.

"Man Neji! Why do you have to be like that? We are just trying to find out more about her so we can look for signs of her and not mistake her for someone else."

Neji mumbled something about having him with them so they wouldn't need to know but he ended up telling them anyway.

"She is about a head shorter than me, long black hair, and she has the Hyuuga eyes. She is kind and quiet. She specializes in the gentle fist, and a special technique that is similar to my chakra spin, but with lines of chakra."

Neji looked at Isao and Emori, who were looking back at him very confused. He rolled his eyes.

"Its complicated. But if you see her or what you think is her and she doesn't use gentle fist or something similar it probably isn't her and you need to figure out a better way to check."

Emi looked back.

"You're the one who knows her. What can we ask her that will be obvious if it is her?"

Neji thought for a moment.

"Ask her who she wants to marry."

Emi looked at him sharply.

"Is that some kind of a joke?"

Neji glared.

"Have you ever known me to be the kind to tell a joke?"

Emi huffed but didn't push the subject.

"So what's the answer?" Isao asked.

"Naruto." Neji said simply.

***

Hinata blinked her eyes open slowly. Her head was pounding and her stomach seemed to want to empty itself of everything it could. She shifted her weight a little and found her hands tied behind her back. She quickly put the pieces together.

_I was taken._

She scanned her person looking for weapons or tools of any kind. Unfortunately it seems whoever had taken her had also taken all of her clothes. She blushed at the thought. She was now wearing what looked like a white dress that had been worn too many times. It was too big for her and so it slacked over her shoulders but she was happy that she was wearing something.

There were sharp pains shooting up her arms from the blood being cut off for so long. Also her throat was dry and painful. She guessed, based on how she felt, that she had been out for at least twelve hours. The panic that she felt rising in her throat needed to be pushed back. She had never been as good at emotional control as some of the other Kunoichi.

Tears stung in her eyes but she pushed them back by thinking rationally and avoiding the fear. She was in a small room that looked about the size of a one bedroom apartment. There was no furniture in the room, or anything to tell her who had taken her. There was a window on the back wall but it had been covered with black cloth. Only slight rays of light came into the room around the edges.

The room smelled musty and old. The floor had a thick layer of dust everywhere but where she was laying and footprints going in and out. The door was old wood, but there was no handle on the inside. She felt very lonely and hopeless here. The darkness of the room wasn't doing any good to her self control.

She lay there for a few hours waiting for something new to happen. Several times she heard footsteps outside the door, but she never could work up the courage to attract their attention sooner than she had to.

Finally, she could hear some fumbling on the other side of the door. She heard the click of a key turning and the doorknob being turned. The door opened and she had to close her eyes because of the bright light that flowed over her face. It felt like needles piercing her eyes. She waited for her eyes to adjust as she listened to the person in the room with her.

When she opened her eyes she saw a man standing there holding a knife, and another man in the doorway, holding a tray of what looked like old bread and a cup. The man with the knife crouched down close to her and she automatically pulled back in a defensive position. The man chuckled.

"Scared of me are you, Princess?"

Hinata didn't say anything. It was better to say nothing now than to get used to talking to them.

He held the knife up in the light, letting the blade glitter near her face. The blade alone was about eight inches long, with an ivory handle that was carved with scenes of death.

"Pretty isn't it? It used to be my father's, he was slaughtered by the Hyuuga's when I was fifteen; and now its mine. This is what's going to cut your pretty throat if our clans don't break the treaty."

He grinned as though sharing something great with her. Then his eyes became steely.

"I am Shirou. You _will _tell me everything you know about the Hyuuga's; then I might let you go. For now though, we'll let you think it over for a while."

He reached for her and roughly turned her over. She struggled against his hands but since she was tied there wasn't much she could do. He took the knife and cut the rope tying her hands with a sharp movement.

He backed away and she sat up slowly and rubbed her wrists to get her circulation flowing again. Shirou gestured to the other man and he set the food just inside the door. They both went to the door, keeping one eye on her. Shirou smiled at her before closing the door.

"Have a nice meal Princess. We'll talk again in the morning."

Then he closed the door and she was engulfed in darkness again. She waited for her eyes to adjust before going over to the plate and cup. Logic told her she should eat to get her energy up before the trial ahead.

As she curled against the wall, munching on stale bread and sipping at the water, she let a few tears slide from her eyes. She realized that she wasn't afraid of torture or death, but afraid of never seeing the person she loved again.

_Naruto. I love you._

_***_

_A/N- Sorry this chapter is so short and late. I started school so I have been to busy for sleep much less writing. Ill write again soon hopefully. Please review.  
_


	9. Chapter 9 “I’m a ninja too, you know”

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 9

"I'm a ninja too, you know."

Neji ran with his team. It took them 2 days to get to where Faura intelligence had told them they might start looking. It was a five mile wide area hidden in hill and trees. They had been told that it used to be used as a Faura hideout when their two clans were still at war. Now it was basically an abandoned bunker. All that was left was a building made of stone that was covered in moss and housed small creatures.

When Neji jumped down into the clearing where the bunker was he already had his Byakugan activated. He scanned the area but saw no one for a mile in any direction.

Neji cursed under his breath. He hadn't really expected the kidnappers to be stupid enough to hide somewhere so obvious but he had hoped that this would be over with soon. Emori went into the house briefly to check it and came back quickly.

"There is nothing inside. Nobody has been in here for a year at least."

Emi, who was looking around the area said, "Well nii-san. What's the plan?"

Emori sighed. Neji thought through what he would have said had this been his command. Since there were only four of them it would be better to spilt up and search the area. However since this was the only Intel the Faura could give them it was likely that the kidnappers weren't even here. Splitting up would just waste time. But they also couldn't leave the area unchecked because it is possible that the kidnappers were in the area.

"Neji. Can you see five miles out?"

Neji looked at him and considered it. It was easy to see five miles in an open plain. In the forest he had only stretched his vision to three miles. But that hadn't been a strain.

"Yes." Neji replied curtly.

Before Emori had a chance to reply Neji closed his eyes and focused more chakra than usual into his clan's technique. When he opened his eyes and expanded his vision he could see well beyond five miles. He turned and slowly surveyed the whole area, making sure to miss nothing. He saw a few other abandoned houses but there were no inhabitants in the area. He closed his eyes and let his chakra flow stop.

"There is no one here."

Emori sighed.

"Anyone have any better ideas on where to look?"

"I would put my bet closer to Konoha." Emi said. "The agreement is that they will release Hinata if the treaty is broken right? So they should be somewhere near there to be able to hear word about the treaty and to return Hinata easily."

Emori said, "Yes that would make sense but they are probably not stupid. They know Hinata is a ninja herself so they would probably not have any qualms about dropping her in the middle of nowhere to find her own way back to Konoha."

Isao piped up, "But they need to be near one of the villages. If it was me I would hide closer to Faura because they know the terrain better and probably have people on the inside who will tell them the situation between clans."

All three of them blinked at Isao.

"Wow Isao. You're actually smart when you try." Emi said in a mock surprised tone.

Isao shoved her gently. "Shut up."

"He has a good point. What do you think Neji?" Emori asked.

Neji thought silently for a minute.

"We should send a message back to Faura saying this and have them search the surrounding area. We will search the outer limits between both villages. After all, Ninja don't usually need to be close to a place to get information from there."

Emi pulled out a small piece of paper while Emori and Isao discussed the type of code they should use. They quickly wrote a short message in a code Neji didn't recognize and handed it back to Emi. She quickly folded it into a small crane. Neji watched closely as she closed her hands around the small form and chakra burst into her hands. When she opened her palms the little bird straightened itself up and flew up into the sky.

Neji raised an eyebrow at them.

"We started doing this when we found it was hard to send messages back to the village when we are in the middle of nowhere. It was actually Emi's idea. She gives the paper her chakra signature and it follows any path she gives it to take."

Neji didn't say anything. But in his mind he was wondering why Konoha had never thought of that.

They decided to split into pairs, each group taking a com with them. They stood there for a moment while Emori decided who would separate.

"Ok. Isao you come with me. Neji and Emi go together."

Neji glanced at Emi. Her face looked bored as usual.

"Spread out and search the ten mile radius I have shown on the map. Then once you are finished meet at this spot." He pointed to a checkpoint on the map. Neji knew he had chosen it because it would be easy to find without the map. It was a tall rock that stood by itself in the middle of a small valley surrounding it. From the look of it, it had been a meteorite.

"If either of us aren't back at the rock by sundown and you haven't heard from us on the com, then you know what to assume."

Emi nodded.

"See ya! Isao yelled before him and Emori jumped off into the trees, racing toward their section of the map. Neji looked over at Emi the chain of command put him below her which he didn't like too much. But he was used to being below people who didn't deserve to command him and would often just hide behind the real fighters when danger came. At least she would be better than that.

"Well let's get out of here." Emi sighed. "With your eyes we should get done way before them."

Neji followed her as she turned and jumped into the trees.

****

Naruto led Hinata's team to the last place Hinata was seen. When he had been told about her kidnapping he had felt his heart sink unbelievably low. A million scenarios ran through his mind, each worse than the last. He had to stop himself from thinking about it because each time his stomach would revolt against the images, and his eyes would start to sting.

He had Junichi trying to relocate her scent outside of the village walls. They had spent a lot of time just trying to find a lead and they had come up empty handed. Finally after several hours of searching Junichi howled let the team know.

Naruto was there first.

"What did you find? Her scent?"

Junichi nodded his huge wolf head. Then when the other two followed quickly behind Naruto he started running. For a wolf, He was extremely fast, for a ninja he was quick, but not fast enough for Naruto.

However Naruto held in his grumbling. To truly follow the path correctly he knew that Junichi wouldn't slow them down for any reason.

He prepared himself for a long search.

***

Hinata had been locked in this room for three days. She had been watching and learning each guard's behavior and trying to guess their ranks. If she had guessed correctly there were two Jounin and eight chunin. Each had been sent in to her room at one time or another to give her food, take her dishes, or rough her up a little.

Today she was sitting by the door and trying to listen to anything that was said outside. Soon enough two men walked down the hallway where her room was to bring her food. She listened intently to their quiet conversation as she watched their lips move with her Byakugan.

"Listen, I'm tired of this! I never wanted to be a traitor to the village. Why did Shirou have to lead us in this direction?"

"Shut it. You're going to get in serious trouble if anyone hears you talking bad about Shirou. If you're going to run I won't stop you, but I won't help you either. I would recommend doing when Shirou is gone."

"What, you mean tomorrow? That's a little soon. I wouldn't have time to plan anything."

"You're stupid. Just run if you are going to run. Go back home and tell them you are sorry but you are too low on the food chain to know anything."

Now they were in front of the door. Hinata quickly backed away and stopped her Byakugan. She crouched in the back corner with her eyes closed, trying to look like the scared prisoner. They opened the door and dropped the food. The one who wanted to run didn't look at her at all, but the other came into the room staring at her.

"You think Shirou will let us play with her before he kills her?"

Hinata widened her eyes to look like she was terrified but she was thinking _Lay one hand on me ugly and I'll castrate you, and then kill you. _The scared one in the back shuttered.

"You're creepy man. Leave the girl alone. She already has enough on her mind."

The other grunted and backed out, closing and locking the door behind him. Hinata smiled. Now she had a plan.

***

Neji was mad. They had gotten no where, and found nothing.

He and Emi had made it back to the meeting place before Emori and Isao. Emi was sitting with her back against the rock while Neji stood there and silently fumed.

"Why are you so mad?"

Neji looked at Emi. He was a little surprised that she was talking to him. Not to mention she even initiated it.

"She is my cousin."

Emi rolled her eyes.

"Well duh Neji. I meant that you are mad even though you know we are doing everything we can; we are still searching when we have no leads. They could be in the land of the waves or some other random place and we are out looking where ever we can just because of this treaty. So why are you mad?"

Neji stared at her with blank eyes. She was right of course but that wasn't the point. He sighed and looked away from Emi over the trees.

"She is my friend. I don't want her to be hurt."

If he had been looking at Emi he would have seen her eyes soften and her lips curve up into a tiny smile. After that she left him alone, for which Neji was very thankful.

***

Three hours later, Neji and Emi heard their com go off. It was Emori.

"… We found an underground entrance. We aren't sure what's there but we can feel some chakra signature coming from it. Can you guys join us?..."

Emi pushed the button on the com, "Sure. What is your location?" She stood up and threw her bag over her shoulder again.

"…We are about eight miles southeast of the rock…"

"Gotcha. Be right there nii-san."

"…you should really call me captain…"

"Shut up nii-san.

She put the com back in her pocket and they headed out again heading south east. Neji kept his Byakugan activated so that they wouldn't miss them. About twenty minutes later the ninjas jumped silently down and approached Emori and Isao who were crouched behind a cluster of foliage. Emori turned and beckoned them forward while giving the signal for silence. They crept forward and looked over into the clearing ahead where they could see a man standing, smoking something and fiddling with a knife.

Emori turned and gestured to Isao to stay and watch while he, Emi and Neji pulled back. Once they got to a safe distance Emori told them about the situation.

"Ok. So when we got here no one was outside. We discovered it because there were some smoldering ashes on a rock. After we called you, that man came out, lit up and has been standing there ever since. He must be some kind of watch."

After his whispered explanation they all returned to where Isao was hiding. When he saw them he gave the signal for no change.

Neji moved to the forward position and silently activated his Byakugan. He could see that the man was armed with ninja weapons, and that the underground area was basically a fortress. Its walls were fortified with heavy stone and the interior went very deep. It would be a very hard place to get into.

Neji scanned the people who were wandering its halls. At the moment he was just looking for chakra signatures, trying to find Hinata's, which was so familiar to him.

Finally in the furthest back corner he saw her. She was shut away in a closet kept dark. She looked healthy and unharmed. He silently breathed a sigh of relief.

He pulled back to look at those around him. He signaled to Emori to come back with him.

"This is it. They have her inside."

Emori's eyes widened. "Having you around is so handy."

Neji gave him a blank stare.

"Well, what about defenses? Did you see a way for us to get in?"

Neji shook his head slowly.

"The only way in is the front. It is a very deep underground base and the walls are reinforced with stone."

Emori thought for a moment.

"Draw it for me."

Neji gave him a look.

"Please?"

Neji rolled his eyes and grabbed a stick near him. He crouched down and began to sketch a rough map of the place. It was long and drawn out, with many turns and hallways. The way it was laid out reminded Neji very much of Orochimaru's old bases. He drew in the closet where Hinata was being kept and marked it. Then he chucked the stick aside.

Emori was studying the map intensely.

"I heard you were a captain in Konoha."

Neji was a little taken aback by the change in conversation. He nodded.

Emori looked at him.

"What would you do?"

Neji looked at the map he had drawn and tried to remember each person he had seen and their abilities.

"Take the entrance when they change the guard."

Emori nodded. "Yes that seems to be the only way to get in. Then we will just have to fight our way in?"

Neji nodded. "There are three Jounin and eight chunin."

"If we can get in there without raising any alarms then we should be able to avoid facing them all at once."

Neji nodded again.

"Well," Emori sighed, "sounds like a plan to me. Let's wait till morning so we can evaluate the shift changes. Emi, Isao and I will do that. You will watch our backs and make sure no one is approaching us from the forest."

Neji didn't respond as Emori went back to get Emi. Isao had the first watch on the base just as the sun sank below the line of trees.

***

Naruto and his team had been following Hinata's scent for almost two days now. It had taken them a lot longer than planned because it had been difficult for Junichi to follow her scent after it had gotten old. They were now following a stronger trail. Junichi believed they were getting closer.

Naruto could barely handle it. His team had come to fear him a little after these days with him. He had been reluctant to stop at night to rest. Even though he knew that Junichi needed the chance to restore his chakra from maintaining a different form all the time. He pushed them to go faster and often made them eat on the run.

At night Naruto would almost never sleep. He would pace around the fire and carve at sticks when he wasn't pacing. In the whole two days Naruto had only fallen asleep once.

Tonight was no different. It was already past sunset and Naruto was still pushing them to go a little further. Finally, Naruto stopped. But he did not relax and tell them to set up camp. He stood on a tree branch and seemed to be tensed for something.

Hiro and Hideki crouched on their branches taking advantage of the moment of rest in case Naruto sped off again.

Junichi had his ears up and his back was tense as he sniffed in the direction Naruto was looking.

Suddenly out of the trees, Neji stepped out.

Naruto jumped down to him.

"Neji. What are you doing here?"

"We are here for Hinata. My team is up ahead. I saw you coming so I came to guide you and to warn you to be very quiet."

"Did you find her?" Naruto almost sounded frantic.

Neji put a hand on his shoulder. It was not to comfort him but rather to hold him there.

"Yes. She is in an underground base up ahead. We are watching the guard change for now. In the morning when the guard changes we will attack and gain the entrance. Then from there it's your basic rescue mission."

Neji had remained talking to keep Naruto from going crazy. He could see the panic in his eyes. As Naruto heard out Neji's plan his eyes began to calm.

"Is she hurt?"

"No."

Naruto sighed.

"Good. Now where is this camp of yours?"

Neji led them to the others and made sure they would be quiet. Junichi changed his form back so he could rest normally. When they met up with the others there were whispered greetings and hugs from the Faura. Hiro and Hideki stayed away from Neji because they were unmarked by the curse.

They passed the night in spells of dozing and watching. Naruto slept the whole night, and no one bothered him because Hiro and Hideki had told them about his actions during the mission.

Neji sat against a tree with his Byakugan activated, watching the forest. He saw when Hiro stood up from his bed roll, but he did not think anything of it. However when Hiro approached him, Neji felt himself tense up as he did so often when approached by a main house member.

Hiro stood a little bit away from him, and then crouched down and started playing with a blade of grass. Neji didn't know much about Hiro. He had heard that he was kind, but Neji had trouble equating that with anyone of the main house, other than Hinata.

"I will take your watch for you if you want to rest."

Neji stared at him for a moment before turning his head away.

"No."

"I know that you don't like me. But I also know that you have been sitting here for most of the night. You need some rest before the fight in the morning."

Neji looked at him and Hiro smiled a little nervously. Neji glared but got up.

Just before he was completely on the opposite side of the tree he heard Hiro speak again.

"Thank you."

Neji stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. Technically Neji should have been the one thanking him.

"For trusting me with this." Hiro gestured at the ground around him. "You trust me with your watch."

Neji stared at him for a moment longer before walking away. _What kind of logic was that?_

Neji settled down on his bead roll and fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

Neji woke before the sun. The only people awake were Hiro, watching the outside, and Emori, watching the base. He stood and walked silently over to where Emori was crouched.

He looked over the bushes a saw a man standing guard. He was lazily leaning against a boulder, and sharpening a kunai.

Neji looked at Emori and gave a hand signal. _When?_

Emori glanced at the sky then gave a signal to Neji. _ Soon. Wake them._

Neji turned and stopped at the first person he saw. In his early days with Lee and Tenten he had learned that it was a very bad idea to wake a sleeping ninja so he was prepared to jump away from kunai or punches. He looked over the blanket and saw that it was Emi.

She slept curled around her pillow like a cat. She had also taken her hair out of its customary braid and it was like a fire had exploded around her head. After a minute Neji noticed he was staring at her sleeping form. Thankful no one else was awake or watching he gently reached down and touched her shoulder. Her eyes opened immediately and she tensed to fight. When she saw that it was just Neji and the confusion of sleep wore off she relaxed and looked around.

Neji just gave the hand signal for soon. She nodded.

Neji then went to wake Isao. Unfortunately Isao turned out to be the harder one to wake. Neji reached down and tapped his shoulder. Isao, still sleeping and quicker that Neji expected, wrapped his arm around Neji's neck and pulled him down into a choking hug. Neji's surprise was short-lived and his anger flared up. He reached his hand around and pinched Isao in the back where he new it would relax all his muscles and let him be released. Amazingly when he finally got free and stood up, Isao was still dead asleep. Neji noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and saw that Emi had seen Isao's hug and was now laughing so hard she could barely stay silent. Neji glared.

Emi calmed herself but was still grinning. Neji thought that this might have been the first time he had seen her smile like that. She walked over to Isao and gave him a rough kick in the head. He slowly blinked open his eyes. Once he found he couldn't move from Neji blocking his Chakra he opened his mouth to exclaim but Emi quickly covered it. She laughed silently again and gestured to Neji. He leaned down and poked him roughly in the back. Isao grunted a little but regained control of his limbs.

Emi went to wake the others so Neji didn't have to. He watched her walk away. He couldn't get the image of her smiling out of his head. When she smiled her face looked different. Like she was alive.

Neji shook these strange thoughts away and went to rejoin Emori. Once everyone was awake and behind them they waited for the guard to change. They spread out in the trees at equal intervals and made a plan of attack.

Naruto was nearest to Neji. He had a look of absolute determination.

When the guard changed they watched as two men came out to replace the other instead of one. Neji glanced at Emori but he gave the hand sign to hold. Neji watched. One of the men replaced the guard and the old guard went in. He was a chunin as Neji could easily see. The other man came out and his chakra flared up. Neji could tell he was one of the Jounin. He fell forward on his hands which had become paws. He had changed into a hyena. It was an animal that Neji had never seen, but when describing Shirou this was the animal they had described. It was shaped like a deformed dog, with an arched back and short unkempt rough hair. The eyes were small and black and his jaw looked like it was incredibly strong. He turned and ran straight into the woods.

Neji could see Emi let out her breath. He realized that if Isao had caught anyone's scent he would have immediately known of their presence.

They waited for about ten minutes before they could no longer feel Shirou's chakra. Emori then gave the signal to move forward.

Suddenly a kunai was sticking out of the chunin's neck. Isao had thrown the kunai perfectly to kill the man silently. They jumped from their trees and quickly moved forward. Hideki grabbed the body and hid it in the woods before taking up the post as the "guard". He had a com if he had any trouble to ask for help.

Emori was at the door. This part of the plan was more complicated. Neji was at the front by the door keeping his Byakugan on and watching for people on the other side of the door. Once Neji had surveyed the area, he nodded to Emori. Emori opened the door and they all filed in. They were all prepared to fight.

Neji scanned the halls around the corner two men had just come out of a room and were headed their way. He signaled that to Emori who had everyone press against the wall to hide their presence. As soon as the men came around the corner, Neji reached out and hit one across the neck to stop all his chakra flow. He immediately died. At the same time Emori grabbed the other man and quickly slit his throat. The man gasped and gurgled but otherwise went down as silently as the man Neji had killed. They both laid down the men and moved into the next hallway. Neji kept an eye on every room and they hurried past. Through the next few levels they didn't have any problems or meet anyone.

The base was very large for eleven people. It could have easily housed a hundred people. They kept going deeper and deeper into the base. Neji knew that once they reached the last level, where Hinata was, they would have to fight to get in and out. There were two Jounin and five chunin there.

When they finally reached the top of the stairwell that went down onto the final level Neji signaled them to stop. Using hand signals Neji told them what was below.

_Two men to the right, one Jounin, one chunin. Four in a room to the left, all chunin. Door at end guarded by one Jounin. Goal is there._

Emori nodded. This was where the plan became fuzzy and had to be improvised. Just as Emori was about to give the signal to move forward into the hall and just fight, there was an enormous bang and a ton of dust and bits of stone were thrown around on the level below. Naruto overreacted and rushed into the chaos. The rest of the ninja followed him.

After that it was an all out battle. It was perfectly even so that each person had to deal with one of their own opponents. Neji immediately turned to face the Faura in the hall. He was staring at Neji with a surprised look on his face, before he broke into a grin.

"It's been a long time since I got to kill one of you ugly fellas."

Neji smirked and struck at him. The man had pulled out a huge axe that he swung around faster than looked possible. Neji was faster though. As he dodged the blade and landed hits on the mans vital organs, his opponent started to slow as he lost control of his body. To end it quickly Neji used a technique.

"Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher!"

He shoved his palm into the man's chest. He was blown away and landed on the far side of the hall. He slid down the wall to the floor and Neji went over and knocked him out.

He turned and looked at the other battles that were going on. Hiro was injured on his forearm where it seemed a Kunai had got him. All the rest of the enemy was subdued or dead. Neji started to move down the hall when he saw Hinata standing there.

"Hey." She said, "I was planning on rescuing myself you know." She smiled.

Neji couldn't help but smile a little too to see her safe again. He didn't know that Emi was watching him. Naruto ran past him and grabbed Hinata into a bear hug. She laughed and hugged him back.

"Was that blast you?" Neji asked her after Naruto put her down and stopped talking nonstop.

"Yeah. My plan was to escape while Shirou was gone."

"Oh. We saw him leave," Naruto said loudly, "He turned into a dog and ran away."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

They all turned quickly and saw that Shirou was walking down the stairs. Behind him was a whole group of ninja ready to fight.

"You thought you got off lucky when I "didn't" smell you. In truth I did and I went to get reinforcements while you trapped yourself in here." He smiled.

Naruto moved forward.

"You left your men to die? I can't believe that anyone would do that."

Shirou laughed.

"Then you are naive. I have thirty fresh men here with me and I have a hostage." he dragged Hideki forward and held an ivory knife to his neck.

"Give me back Hinata and you can all go."

"Liar." Neji snarled angrily.

Shirou laughed again.

"Alright no lies. Give me the girl and this boy doesn't die mercilessly. Then you might have a chance to fight your way out of here."

Hinata walked up behind Neji and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to go with him."

Neji immediately said "No."

Hinata leaned in to whisper.

"_Think _Neji. If I go with him, then he won't kill Hideki and you have a chance to fight and find me again. Not to mention I'm a ninja too. And a Jounin at that. Don't underestimate me Neji."

Neji glanced back at her and saw Emi watching them. HE stared at her for a second before Emi nodded slightly. He wasn't sure why but that pushed over the edge.

He turned to Hinata.

"Fine but if you die, I will personally bring you back and kill you."

She smiled and hugged him.

"Alright Shirou, I'm going with you."

Naruto turned, but Hinata laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Ill be fine."

Shirou smiled and grabbed her arm when she reached them.

"Bye kids. Have fun dying."

He laughed as he dragged her through the crowd of ninja behind them. Then they were gone.

"Well," Emori said, "I guess we have to fight again. Hey you! Give over Hideki!"

The ninja brutally threw Hideki down on the floor. He quickly scrambled up and turned to face the ninja.

"Alright. Let's get this party started!" Naruto yelled as he made several clones of himself.

With that exclamation and roar from the other side, the battle started.

***

"Come on Princess. You're slow."

Shirou was irritated at her. Hinata was purposely slowing him down. He finally just hauled her over his shoulder.

"You do anything princess and Ill slice your fingers off one by one."

Hinata rolled her eyes at the man's threats. _He is such an idiot. I wonder if he ever did any research on the Hyuuga kekkei genkai at all._

She swung her hand down and hit the nerve at the very back of his neck, severing his chakra flow and, with her medical ninja skills, his spinal cord.

He dropped like a rock. She caught herself before falling out of the tree and watched him fall the eight or so feet to the ground.

She jumped down to him and rolled him over. He was still conscious. She crouched down and he glared at her fiercely.

"Fix me you stupid hag."

Hinata pretended to think for a moment.

"Now why would I do that?" She smiled at him and began walking away.

"Don't leave me here to die bitch! At least kill me you coward!"

Hinata didn't even turn back as she wandered back towards the base.

When she got there she saw Neji and Naruto burst out of the door. They both stopped as though surprised to see her. Neji quickly regained his composure but Naruto remained open-mouthed.

"I thought I would have to come rescue you."

Hinata walked up and slugged him in the arm shyly.

"I am a ninja you know. I'm not completely worthless."

Naruto blinked at her for a moment, and then laughed.

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Me too."

He grabbed her up in another hug. And whispered in her ear.

"Marry me? Say yes."

***

A/N- Thank you so much for being patient with me. I know it has been forever since I last updated. School and life have been a total pain. Anyway please review. Ill probably be updating again around christmas since the curse of finals is starting to fall upon me. :( Ill try to update more regularly.

- theHidden1


	10. Chapter 10 Emi's Pain

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 10

Emi's Pain

"Marry me? Say yes."

Hinata could barely breathe. She leaned out of the hug and stared into Naruto's face with wide eyes.

"What?" The same phrase was currently going through Neji's head as well.

"I love you Hinata. When I found out you had been kidnapped I almost couldn't handle the thought of something happening to you." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "I wanted you to be safe in my arms every second that you were away."

He pulled back to look at her face. Hinata still stared at him blankly. Naruto glanced at Neji who was standing off to the side with a very disapproving look on his face. But Naruto knew that Neji would let Hinata make her own choices without butting in.

"I can't live without you. You are so important to me and this incident only made me realize it all the more. Please say yes."

Hinata opened her mouth slowly to speak, but before she could say anything the rest of the two teams came out of the underground. Naruto and Hinata quickly stepped apart and Hinata smiled as though nothing different had just happened. She walked towards her team laughing as they teased her about being caught and introducing herself to the new Faura ninja present.

Naruto looked over at Neji who was now walking towards him. Naruto flinched.

"I know, you think it will never work. Blah blah blah. Just shut it Neji and let me be happy for a little while."

"Actually I was going to say 'Good luck'."

Naruto's shocked face looked up at Neji.

"If you can make it work, then I know she will be happy."

Naruto stared for a second. "I would have thought you would be the one saying that it goes against the clan and would never be accepted."

"It wont. But she is my cousin and more importantly my friend. I want her to be happy. I want this to work for her."

Naruto smiled. Neji looked away as if nothing had happened. Emotions were something to keep hidden. When you showed your emotions, you showed your weakness.

The others were still talking and double checking to make sure Hinata was ok. Hinata laughed them all off and waved away their concerns. Emori walked over to stand beside Neji.

"So, do you think we should escort them back? Or should we just head back home?"

Neji glanced at him. _Home? Where would I call home? _It had been a question he had asked himself every time Hinata had said 'home' whenever they had been in Konoha together. She considered the compound her home, but that was just where he lived, not where he felt at home. There was no such place for him. It made his stomach twist in a strange way, and he pushed the thought from his head.

"Lets make sure they get back without trouble."

Emori nodded and went to tell Emi and Isao about the new journey ahead.

***

Neji looked up at the gates of Konoha as they passed through, the sign of the leaf blazed above it as a beacon to those who came near that this was the place of the leaf ninja. Emi walked beside him and gazed up at the symbol too.

"I have never been here you know. This will be my first time to another ninja village."

Neji looked at her. He had noticed that over the last few days that they had been traveling together she had been talking to him more than she had before. Now she talked like he was just one of the team, like Isao. He never really talked back to her but that was just who he was. He usually didn't speak unless it was necessary.

"It's a lot bigger than our village. But our village is better."

She turned and grinned at Neji as though daring him to contradict her. He just smirked without looking at her. She was always much happier outside her own village. Now he could see that she was genuinely happy when she was not around the people of her clan.

They went into the gates and had to head straight for the Hokage's office. Neji and the rest of his new team lagged a little behind the others to follow. Since they were not accustomed to the village and Neji was a part of their team they stuck together. Isao was constantly commenting on things he saw as they passed through the village.

"Oh that restaurant looks good! Can we eat there later Emori? Come on! Ooooh and look over there!" Then he started to whisper, "That girl is pretty."

Neji glance over to see if he recognized who Isao was talking about. However he quickly sensed an approaching ninja who had the intent of possible bodily harm. At least Neji counted it as such.

"NEJI!!!!"

Lee zoomed past as Neji dodged the tackle. He gracefully stood there as Lee stopped and turned for a second attack. This time Neji was prepared for a counter-offensive. As Lee rushed forward, Neji slid into his signature pose, and just as Lee got within arms-length of Neji, he reached out and caught Lee by the shoulder, flung him over his back and cut off the chakra flow in his legs.

Lee landed on the ground with an ungraceful roll and leaned up on his elbows giving Neji a tearful look.

"That wasn't very nice Neji." Tenten said laughing, as she approached.

"Hn." Neji shrugged and walked over to Lee. He lightly kicked him over onto his back and put his foot onto Lee's back. The surge of chakra he let out of his foot made Lee flinch but it also gave Lee back the control of his legs.

Tenten gave Lee a hand up and then started walking with Neji while Lee got distracted by something else.

"So your back. How's life in the Sun Village?"

Neji just looked at her and raised an eyebrow. _You know I'm not one for small talk so why are you asking?_

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Oh right. You don't talk unless you feel like it. It's been almost too long since I talked to you"

She turned around and looked at the three Faura and smiled warmly.

"So who are you guys?"

Isao and Emori both grinned back at her, while Emi only graced her with a simple smile.

"I'm Emori, this is Emi and Isao."

"I'm Tenten. I was Neji's old teammate from when we were genin. I used to be his best friend. But that was back when he was nice."

Isao laughed at Tenten's carefree way of talking to Neji. Tenten gave him a look which he chose to ignore.

"Oh right, you were always like this." She laughed at her own joke.

Emori smiled at her again.

"We are headed to the Hokage. We don't have time to talk." Neji said.

Tenten feigned surprise. "He speaks!"

Isao and Emori laughed and Neji rolled his eyes.

"Bye guys. Catch ya later." Tenten winked at them and disappeared into the streets towing Lee along with her.

Isao hurried to slide in beside Neji. He slung an arm over Neji's shoulder casually.

"So, she's cute. Is she single?"

Neji glared at him and then looked pointedly at his arm which was still draped over him. Isao quickly removed it.

"You would have to ask her that." Neji replied simply.

Isao sighed dramatically.

"You can't give a guy a break? Come on Neji!"

"We are falling behind." Neji sped up his walk so that they were forced to follow.

Emori and Isao rolled their eyes and trudged along behind him, but Emi, following last, was smiling softly.

***

Tsunade sat behind her desk and listened to a detailed account of the mission from all sides. First she heard Hinata, then Naruto, and then from Neji.

"Well it sounds like you have all had a rough time of it. Emori, I would volunteer a place for you and your teammates to stay tonight but I assume I will be overruled by the Hyuuga who are also taking care of your ambassador. They have their stingy ways of hospitality and god forbid I should get in their way."

She waved them out of the office, proclaiming about the piles of work she had to catch up on while simultaneously reaching for a bottle of sake.

Emi smiled.

"I like Lady Tsunade."

Neji glanced at her from the side and felt his lips twitch a little in a smile. He hadn't meant to but it was obvious she had seen it because her smile grew wider at the sight.

"Come on. We have to check in with the ambassador, I expect he will have some kind of message for us to take to father." Emori rolled his eyes.

Neji headed back through the streets listening to Emori and Isao talking about the things they saw on the street. They seemed to make it their goal to visit every store or restaurant while they were in Konoha. Emi just walked silently beside Neji. He noticed though that she was becoming the shut-in person that she had been when he had first seen her. Her face adopted the bored look and she straightened into a walk that said she was above everyone.

_Is it because of the ambassador and other Faura at the compound? Whenever we leave the village and she is away from everyone, she is relaxed, even friendly. But when we go near another Faura it is like…_Neji made the comparison in his head just as he got uncomfortable with the idea. _…Like me. I am different around the Hyuugas. She is different around the Faura. _

He led them through the gates of the compound and inside waiting for them were Hiashi and the Faura representatives. Emori walked forward and bowed to Eiji, the ambassador.

"Eiji-sama."

Eiji walked forward and placed his hands on Emori's shoulders.

"Emori. It's good to see you. How is the Taiyoukage?"

Emori chuckled. "He is well. I'm sure he is causing trouble as per usual."

The wrinkles that gently framed Eiji's eyes pulled up into a smile.

"I'm sure he is. As are you. How long are you staying?"

"Just the one night. We need to head back and report to the village. They haven't heard from us yet."

Eiji nodded. "I hope you will stay here."

Hiashi stepped into the conversation.

"Of course. You are all welcome to stay here with us for as long as you like."

Neji hated the smile Hiashi wore. It was a fake smile that conveyed hospitality but not friendliness. It was a smile that he only showed to important people that he wanted to keep in good favor.

Neji turned and started to walk away towards his old rooms. At least it would be nice to sleep in a familiar place again. Though he was getting used to his rooms in the sun village it still wasn't quite the same. However as he turned, a small hand reached out and touched him gently. Any other time it would not have been enough to stop him, but since there was only one person close to him, so he turned in surprise.

Emi was standing there staring at the ground. Her hands were held into fists and her jaw was tense. He waited. She looked up at him slowly. Everyone else was too occupied to notice the silent exchange, but in that moment when Emi looked up, Neji saw a depth of pain in her eyes that made his own mental scars twinge in agony. His breath caught and she stared, silently pleading with him.

He waited for only a second, keeping his face emotionless, before nodding and silently slipping away from the crowd with her close behind him. He led her down behind the houses, making sure to stay in the shadows so they would not be seen. _She must be hiding from them. Why else would she run at that moment?_ The questions about what he had seen in her eyes were swirling around his head.

He slipped out the back of the compound. If she wanted to hide from her clan it was safer to wait till after everyone else was asleep before returning to the house. As soon as they were out he sped to a run and led the way to an old abandoned practice field that had once been his favorite place to practice. At the time he had liked it because it was quiet and no one would bother him.

He slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree, letting himself slide to the ground. She ran up close behind him and watched as he sat down. She sighed after a moment and sat down next to him.

_Does she think I expect an explanation?_ As if to prove he didn't need the explanation he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Whenever he had gotten frustrated at his life he had come to this place. He would sit perfectly still under the stars. It had been a place of peace in his internal chaos.

"I'm sorry. I know you are probably tired. You can go back if you want. I can find my own way back." Emi said softly.

Neji opened his eyes to give her a look. _Does she really think I would leave her alone in a foreign village without any protection? She isn't as smart as she looks._

As his eyes told her this without his words he noticed that her hair had come undone and was hanging straight down her back in red waves like water. The moon cast light onto her face and made her eyes glow and sparkle. He quickly turned away before his eyes could betray him. He had known all along that she was beautiful. But he didn't think it affected him anymore. _So why am I trying to get my breath back? It's like she stunned me._

Emi sighed and leaned back against the tree beside him.

"Fine. I am sorry that I dragged you out here, but I had to get away before Eiji turned his attention to me."

Neji tried to decipher what he could from what little she had told him. Normally he wouldn't care enough to think about other peoples lives but for some reason her life and problems fascinated him. _I want her to smile again._

Neji almost physically flinched at that thought. _Why do I care what she does? _He was making himself angry. It was like he couldn't control the direction his own thoughts were going.

"I hate them." Neji glanced quickly at her. Her face was clouded with anger and hands were balled into fists again. His mind flashed back to the first moment he met her, when she was a beautiful tiger, all anger and beauty.

"They think they can control me. They put barriers up, and seal my strength away. They fear my rebellion. But I rebel because of their overpowering control!"

He leaned away just in time as she turned and punched the tree with enough chakra that the trunk groaned and swayed, while the branched shivered as if in fear. Her breathing was heavy but she gently pulled her fist out of the small hole she had made. She slowly stretched out her fingers and examined the small scrapes and cuts on her hand.

"They torture me when I disobey." She looked up and met his eyes. "My brother and Isao are the only ones who know and don't use it against me. All the other Jounin, my father…"

She looked down and blinked away the tears that had been forming in her eyes. Neji finally realized he had been staring at her through her little rant and turned his face away. He focused his eyes on a light far in the distance so that he would not be tempted to stare again.

Emi was silent for a few moments.

"Please don't tell anyone I told you. It is forbidden even of me. When I am with them, my life is not my own."

Neji sat completely frozen for a moment. _Could it be that her seal works as mine does? Can they control her with a simple jutsu?_

He looked over at her. She was watching his face, waiting for some kind of reaction from him.

"I won't."

Emi sighed and closed her eyes, slouching back against the tree as if she was exhausted.

"You know? You are the first person I have told." She looked up at him again. "Ever"

Neji looked back at her for a moment before leaning back and looking up into the stars. The stars had always made his problems feel like less of a burden. Now he stared at the heavens, silently asking questions he would not say aloud.

***

He stood up. They had been sitting together in silence for at least an hour and Neji could tell Emi was getting tired. He would never have admitted that he was tired as well.

"We should get back."

Emi looked up at him.

"Do you think they'll be asleep?"

Neji sighed at her reluctance.

"Maybe. But I can sneak you in. I know where you were going to sleep anyway. It's near my room so I can just lead you there."

Emi nodded and yawned, stretching out her limbs. Neji instinctively put his hand out to help her up. His mind flinched away from the physical contact. However he also wanted to help her up. His eyebrows drew together at the confusion in his head. She reached up and grabbed his hand in a casual manner and hauled herself up, letting go to brush bits of grass off her pants. He was surprised that he had not felt his usual uneasiness when he touched other people. But then, she was becoming his friend. _Maybe this is normal? Before anyone else got to be close to me they knew me well enough that they never touched me._

He walked slowly back to the compound and she stayed next to him the whole time.

As they came onto the compound, they saw that most of the lamps had been put out. Neji glanced at her and saw that her stone face was back in place. He went up to the gate and pulled it open, signaling to the Hyuuga guard there who he was. Then he slipped off into the shadows of the houses again. She followed right behind him as he stalked the shadows. Finally he slipped into a door at the back of one of the houses. It was further back than the rest and much simpler.

Emi followed him down a small hallway. They moved quietly as she could tell the walls were thin and not made for privacy but rather space. Neji moved like a ghost to the third door on the right hand side. He slid the panel open and slid inside, Emi following silently behind him. He stood just inside the door.

"This is your room." He whispered. "Emori is next to you and Isao is beyond him."He pointed to the left wall. "I am on this side." He pointed now to the right side of the room where the bed was. Neji watched as a slight blush spread across her face. _Why is she blushing?_

He had seen a hundred girls blush. He could walk around Konoha and meet the eyes of a random girl and she would flush crimson almost instantly. But he had never found it so fascinating as he did on her face. The light rose color that bloomed on her high cheekbones was for some reason enough to make him stare for half a second. Then he got himself back together. He shook his head at his mind. _What is wrong with me?_

"Thanks Neji." Emi whispered. Neji turned to leave but once again her small hand stopped him, and this time, it didn't let go right away. "Ill explain more to you later… about me. I know you probably don't understand anything I said."

"You would be surprised." He murmured.

She looked at him for a moment before letting go of his hand.

Neji bowed his head once and left the room. He quietly walked down the hall and slipped into his own room. He pulled his clothes off and threw them into the basket of laundry that would be washed later. He didn't want to get anything else dirty; he was very picky about the state of his clothes. He smirked a little as he thought back to once when Hinata had asked him about that. _"Why do you wear white if you are going to be so picky?"_ He hadn't really bothered to explain to her that white made him feel even cleaner. It was like if he wore something impeccably clean, maybe he would forget about the things that made him feel dirty, like the seal.

He lay down on the bed, and welcomed the unyielding feel it gave him; as though he was sleeping on the ground. He knew he would be up at dawn tomorrow, even if he didn't have to because it was so ingrained in him. He pulled the blanket up to his chest and put arm over his eyes. The sleep overcame him like a drug, and the last thing he remembered thinking about was the moonlight in a pair of glistening eyes and waves of red hair.

***

A/N- Please Please Please Review!!!!! Almost no one has been reviewing. *sob* Even if you hate it I want to know so I can fix it. PLease let me know if it sucks. :(


	11. Chapter 11 Hinata’s Decision

I do not own Naruto

Chapter 11

Hinata's Decision

Neji woke up before the sun was even over the horizon, sighing as he stared at the ceiling. Sometimes it felt like he always had something pressing to do; some mission to accomplish or person to report to. In this case he knew that it wasn't his own business as much as his teams. The Faura heir would have to report back soon.

As a ninja, Emori actually had a very difficult political position. Obviously he couldn't stay safely within the village; he was a ninja and that would be against the point. However, he was also the equivalent to a Daimyo's son. As a leader he was relied upon by his people and if he were ever removed from the picture, as an heir, it would cause serious problems.

Neji hauled himself out of bed and stretched toward the ceiling. He opened his drawers and pulled out a pair of dark pants. After pulling them on the door suddenly slid open. It hadn't really surprised him because he had felt the person out there; but at the same time he wasn't really expecting this person to barge into his room.

Emi stood there staring at his bare chest as though she was paralyzed. Neji raised his eyebrows. _What's with her? I'm positive this is not the first time she has seen a shirtless man._ _She must just be embarrassed for barging in like that. _Neji cleared his throat gently to bring her back to reality. She immediately flushed bright red.

"I… I am so sorry! I didn't mean to…"

Neji smiled a little at her antics while pulling a shirt over his head. He was also trying to politely give her time to collect herself.

"Did you need something?"

Emi seemed to be back to her normal self except for the blush that still stained her cheeks.

"Well, I got mixed up and thought this was Emori's room."

Neji chuckled quietly. "He's on the other side."

Emi nodded, still looking ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry again."

"Don't apologize. You didn't mean to." _And it's not like I was naked. That would have been awkward._

She flushed even redder and closed the door on him. He could hear her running down the hall to Emori's room. He chuckled again. _That was cute._ He, mentally and physically, froze. _Why did I just call her cute? _He shook his head.

Then he was tying on his shoes as Emori knocked gently and slid the door open without stepping in.

"Hey Neji."

"Hn."

"We are going to leave in about an hour. I still need to speak to Eiji-sama this morning because he said he had a message for us to deliver."

Neji nodded without responding. Emori backed away as Neji slipped out the door. He saw the Emi and Isao were standing behind him in the hallway. Emi was still a little red, while Isao was yawning hugely. Neji smirked a little at Emi's face before turning and leading down the hallway.

"Eiji-sama will be in the main house guest quarters. I'll show you where they are but I'm not going in with you."

Emori nodded. "I figured you wouldn't. Meet you at the gate in an hour?"

Neji nodded as he opened the side door to the main house. He led them to the best rooms used for very important guests; then he turned away as Emori knocked. From behind him, he heard Emori hesitate in his knocking. Emori turned his head and glanced at Emi.

"Beat it." He smiled at her.

Emi breathed out a silent sigh of relief and ran to catch up with Neji. She grabbed his arm and towed him quickly away as a servant answered the door to let Emori and Isao in. Neji rolled his eyes and sighed as Emi pulled him quickly outside.

"Sorry about that." She smiled shyly letting go of his arm.

Neji just shook his head and wandered toward the gate of the village. He didn't want to spend his last hour in Konoha around the Hyuugas, unless of course it was Hinata. Emi tagged along behind him not saying anything until they were out of sight of the compound.

"So what were you planning on doing for this last hour?" Emi asked, curiosity toning her voice.

Neji looked back at her.

"I am avoiding the compound like you."

"Why?" She asked, confused. "Isn't that your home?"

Neji mentally flinched at the use of that word. He shook his head at her.

"I don't consider it home."

Emi got a concerned look on her face, but saw that Neji was not willing to divulge any more information right now.

Neji watched from the corner of his eye as she forcefully put a happier face on.

"So what do you want to do?"

Neji shrugged.

"What were you going to do before I joined you?"

Neji looked at her but didn't say anything.

"I assume that means you didn't have any plans. Well, want to show me around your village?"

Neji smirked a little. "Fine."

She scowled a little at him.

"You could be nicer about it."

Neji raised his eyebrows at her and was going to respond when they both turned at the sound of laughter. It was Tenten who had overheard their conversation and decided to join in.

"He was being nice. Trust me."

Emi smiled. "You're Tenten, right?"

"Yep. That's me. So I hear you want to go around the village. When are you leaving?"

Neji crossed his arms and sighed inwardly. _Leave it to Tenten to become friends with anyone after just a few minutes conversation._

"We are leaving in about an hour." Emi said. "But I wanted to see some of the sights before we leave. I have never been to another ninja village before."

"Well I can give you the grand tour!"

Then Tenten began to tow both of them around town. Neji watched as Emi seemed to relax and actually open herself up to Tenten, beginning to laugh and talk more. First Tenten showed her the best places for ninja weapons and tools, since that was her favorite area of Konoha. Neji just followed behind the two girls and made comments when he was spoken to.

"So Emi," Tenten asked, "How old are you?"

Emi glanced at her before going back to testing some kunai on her thumb.

"I'm seventeen. But I'm turning eighteen really soon. Why do you ask?"

Tenten grinned slyly at Neji. _What's that about? _

"Oh, I was just wondering. I'm eighteen. Neji here is the oldest; he's already nineteen."

Emi glanced back at her with a slight confused look on her face. Neji could sympathize. _She goes from talking about her favorite weapons shop to our ages? Random._

"Really? Well… that's cool, I guess."

Tenten elbowed Neji, laughing.

"Yeah pretty soon we'll have to get him a cane, the old man."

Neji glared at her. _This is why I don't talk often. Most of the general population is too stupid to bother speaking to._

As they continued to walk around the village, in a quicker manner than would have been usual for a tour of Konoha, they came across Ichiraku's Ramen shop. They stopped as Tenten proudly introduced it as one of the best restaurants in the village. Naruto could be seen inside slurping down bowl after bowl of ramen. Tenten tapped his shoulder.

"Do you know how bad it is for you to eat so fast?"

Naruto paused in his eating just long enough to look up at her with a face that clearly said 'I neither know, nor care.'

Neji turned to look down the street as Tenten began running through other things Emi wouldn't have time to see in the village. He saw Sakura and Sasuke walking together towards the ramen stand. They, and Naruto, were still technically a team. Ever since Sasuke had returned from his 'rebellious stage' as Naruto liked to call it, he had been under heavy watch. He was not allowed on solo mission and often he would be held back from missions with higher likelihood of running into missing nins. Neji could tell by the look on Sasuke's face that he hated it and thought it was stupid, but he wasn't going to say anything yet. Personally Neji agreed with him. If Sasuke had come back and risked his neck trying to gain back their trust, seeing as how he was on the assassination list of every Konoha Jounin when he returned, he should at least be trusted with dangerous missions. But Neji still hated him for betraying the village; though he never showed it.

"Hey guys! I didn't know you were back in town Neji!" Sakura greeted them.

"Hn. Just for another ten minutes or so."

Sasuke nodded briefly at him and Neji nodded back. That was about as friendly as it got between the two of them.

"Hi. I'm Haruno Sakura." She smiled at Emi.

"I'm Faura Emi. I'm Neji's teammate. We came in with the group sent to get Hinata-chan."

"Oh. Then you're from the same village as Junichi." Sakura grinned. "He is very nice."

Emi smiled a little again. "Yes, he is."

Neji stood up straighter to get her attention.

"We should go." He said simply.

"It was nice to meet you Faura-chan!" Sakura said.

"Please call me Emi."

Sakura smiled. Naruto pulled up out of his ramen for a moment.

"Bye Emi! Have a good trip!"

She laughed at his antics.

"Bye Naruto. Hope to see you again sometime soon."

Tenten hugged her gently and it seemed to throw Emi off but after her shock wore off she shyly hugged her back. As soon as Tenten let go she darted to Neji and caught him before he could dodge. She laughed at his attempted escape and his tortured expression.

"I love you too Neji! I'll tell Lee and Guy sensei that you were here!"

Neji just shook his head and disentangled himself from her arms. He quickly gave a meaningful look to Emi, and turned and quickly walked away. She caught up quickly, smiling to herself.

"Your friends are great. Who knew that people could be so accepting right away?"

Neji smirked. "They tend to be like that."

"Sasuke seemed a little different though; quiet, and… strange."

Neji sighed.

"He… Let's just say that he lost all of our trust once, and is working hard to gain it back."

She pondered that for a moment.

"Did he fail a big mission or something?"

Neji hesitated just one second too long; just enough that she knew this was a touchy subject.

"No. We shouldn't talk about it here."

Emi nodded. She knew that even in the village, shadows lurked and threatened the safety of people. Some secrets should not be spoken unless you are certain you will not be heard.

Neji was thinking along the same track. When Sasuke had returned and become a ninja of the Leaf again, they had been told not to spread the word about him. After all, many of the other villages considered him an enemy still. Tsunade was still trying to work that out.

They approached the gate to see that they had arrived before Emori and Isao. Neji nodded to the Guards watching the gate and then stood silently looking at the path that led away from Konoha.

"Neji?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Emi. She was leaning against the opposite post of the gate. He raised one eyebrow at her, showing he was paying attention.

"Why does it seem like you have no family among the Hyuuga? It feels like the only one you have any personal connection to is Hinata."

Neji looked away. He really didn't want to answer this question.

"I do have family. Hinata is my cousin, and Hiashi is my uncle. I have many other relatives among the Hyuuga."

Emi sighed a little.

"You know that's not what I mean."

Neji closed his eyes.

"My parents died when I was very young."

Emi could tell that this was all she was going to get of his story for now. Especially because that was the moment that Emori and Isao showed up.

"Well," Emori said, "We are heading out a little later than planned but whatever. Shall we go then?" He grinned at Emi.

She smiled back, glancing at Neji. She really hoped that she hadn't offended him with her question.

"Well let's get going then!" Isao yelled. "You guys are always so slow on the take off."

Emori laughed. "Whatever."

***

Hinata sat in her room and stared at the opposite wall.

'_Marry me? Say yes.'_

Ever since those words had been spoken they had been constantly running through her head. Her relationship with Naruto had started last year. She had finally gotten the courage to confess after she became a Jounin. It also might have had something to do with the fact that after she had passed, all her friends took her out drinking. Hinata still blushed a deep red when she thought about that embarrassing night.

They had started just going on dates, and she thought she couldn't be happier. When he first held her hand, she thought she would faint again like she did when she was younger. When he first kissed her, she did pass out. She smiled at the thought. For a long time Naruto was afraid he had hurt her somehow. But she had reassured him that she was just too shy for her own good. Naruto had laughed it off and said '_But I like you that way.'_

'_Marry me? Say yes.'_

She shook her head to try to clear her mind. She had been sitting there staring at the wall for an hour now and still could not wrap her mind around it. She wanted so badly to say yes. She loved him so much that whenever she had started to dream of her life in the future she could not picture it without him. He was her inspiration and comfort. He was who she had tried to style her life after.

_He loves me. _A huge grin flashed across her face at the thought.

Suddenly though her bubble was burst as Neji's face came into her mind. His eyes were slightly sympathetic but his face was severe as usual. _'They will never let you be with him. Your husband is probably already chosen for you as well as a wife for me. We have no choice.'_

She closed her eyes and put her hands over her face. _I know its true, but I had always hoped for my own decision. _The Hyuugas always chose a suitable match for the ones with untainted blood. Those born with the strongest Byakugan were saved for matches that would continue to strengthen the bloodline and keep the Byakugan within the main family's control. From childhood she had been told of her 'upcoming marriage' to the man of her father's choice. She had always just taken it as something she had to do. It wasn't until she really started to grow up and think about marriage that she had become terrified of the idea. To give herself over to someone she didn't love, and in most cases, didn't even know very well. To keep away from the horrible thought she ignored it, and avoided the conversation whenever she could.

She sighed and stood up. Thinking about all this right now would just make her sad. She needed to talk to Naruto and tell him her situation. _Then maybe he will understand. _She felt a sharp pain in her chest at the thought of him leaving her because of these complications. She walked out of the house and through the compound with her eyes out of focus and her mind on difficult things.

"Hinata!"

Hinata jumped, startled by Naruto's yell. He grinned at her apologetically while she tried to calm her heart.

"You scared me to death Naruto!"

"Sorry. I did call your name three times before you answered. Why are you so out of it?"

Hinata looked down at the ground.

"It's… complicated. Can I talk to you somewhere private?"

Naruto smiled. "Of course. Come on!"

He grabbed her hand started towing her along. She wasn't really paying attention to where they were going because she was trying to figure out how to tell him that she couldn't marry him. She desperately wanted to, but couldn't. The thought brought tears to her eyes. When Naruto started to slow down she looked up at where they had ended up.

They were in one of the small parks around Konoha. They were built for the civilians to enjoy, and the ninja got some pleasure out of them as well. The one they were at now was a quiet garden, built around a fountain. In the center of the fountain was a monument dedicated to all those civilians who lost their lives due to enemy ninja attack. It was a small child crouched over a leaf with a butterfly on it. Hinata had always thought this was one of the most beautiful places in Konoha. Naruto led her over to a bench.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I… well…"

Naruto just waited patiently, smiling at her.

"I suppose… I have an answer for you."

She turned beet red and stared at the ground. Naruto immediately caught on because he was so nervous about her answer. It had been plaguing him since he asked.

"I… I don't see how I can marry you."

She looked up just in time to see his face fall into rejection and horror. She panicked because she hated seeing that look on his face. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Wait! I… I want to. I would love to… to say yes. But the clan would never allow it! They have been looking for a suitable match for me since I was a little girl! They want to choose someone who will be beneficial to the clan. They would stop us from being together."

Hinata stopped talking to catch her breath. Naruto had his hands clenched into fists and his face was down. After she stopped talking, he looked up at her. She saw that his eyes looked a little watery which didn't help her to stop her own tears.

Naruto just stared at you for a moment, before reaching up and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"But I didn't ask the clan… I asked you." He said while cradling her face in his hands.

Hinata could barely hold back a sob. She started shaking her head.

"I am part of the clan!" She gasped through her tears. "I cannot… My father… It's impossible!"

She could barely breathe. Naruto gently pulled her forward into his arms, hugging her gently and rubbing her back. She sobbed uncontrollably into his orange shirt. _This is so unfair! I love him! Why can't I be with him? _ She felt her self calm down enough to try to control her tears. It took a while but she finally managed to stop them. Naruto sighed and leaned back to see her face.

"This is what you have decided then?"

She turned and buried her face in his chest so she wouldn't have to see the broken look on his face.

"It was decided for me." She mumbled into his shirt.

Naruto felt broken. He could see the pain it was causing her, but he also knew that she was terrified of her father. The thought of going against her fathers wishes was out of the question in her mind. As she said it was impossible. '_Nothing is impossible Hinata' _is what he wanted to say to her. But he also knew that he would feel like he was forcing her to betray her clan; because while she feared her father, she loved her clan and worked hard to become a good ninja to please her father.

He held her gently for a long time before he was mentally able to convince himself to let go. Now came the hard part.

"Hinata." He whispered.

She looked up at him.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore."

The look of shock that passed on her face was enough to break his heart again.

"If we continue this secret relationship, it will only get harder to break it off later. We need time to get over each other before your… father chooses someone."

Hinata lowered her head. He was right. At this point their relationship could go no further because of her decision. Now it was only about getting over the pain of loosing him. She closed her eyes.

"Ok" was all she managed to say.

Naruto sat with her, holding her hand for a long time. The sun was already beginning to set when he stood up and took her hand.

"Ill walk you home."

She nodded and followed slowly after him. This was the slowest she had ever seen Naruto travel. It was a pace set by someone who didn't want to reach their destination. As they got closer to the compound his grip on her hand got tighter; almost painful, but she didn't mind. She was holding onto him just as tightly.

As they approached the gate Naruto stopped. She looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"I probably shouldn't be seen by them right now."

She nodded. They stood there for a long time, clasping hands as though the other was saving them from drowning.

Naruto looked straight into her eyes.

"You have to let go."

She couldn't hold back the sob that escaped her lips as she shook her head. Naruto's eyes showed that he was just as broken. His hand was still holding her tightly even after his words.

Suddenly he pulled her forward into a hug. It was the kind of hug that made your ribs hurt but Hinata didn't mind. She wrapped her free arm around him and held him tightly. He turned his head and whispered in her ear.

"Goodbye."

Then he was gone. Hinata felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She stood in the street gasping for a moment. She leaned against the wall and tried to stop crying. _Why? I hate this! How is this right?_

"Hinata?"

She looked up and saw Junichi standing there with a shocked and concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright? What happened?" He rushed over and seemed to be checking her for wounds.

She just shook her head.

"I'm fine."

Junichi turned skeptical.

"Yeah, you look fine."

She tried to smile but it didn't help. The teasing faded and he became serious.

"Want to talk about it?"

She looked up at him.

"Not now. Maybe later. Thanks for the offer though. I really need to get inside but I don't want to be seen by anyone who will tell my father."

"Hmmm." Junichi scratched his head. "Well, why don't you borrow this for now?"

He pulled the sweatshirt over his head and handed it to her.

"How will this help?"

Junichi laughed a little at her confusion.

"The hood will hide your face. The guards will recognize your chakra but you can sneak in without your face being seen."

It was her turn to laugh at him.

"Have you forgotten whose compound this is?"

Junichi's eyebrows narrowed.

"Dang. Stupid Byakugan. No offense."

She shrugged.

"Well, do a henge to change your face to look normal."

She glared at him weakly and he laughed.

"Its not that you look bad after crying, you actually look better than most people because your eyes aren't all swelled and gross looking. But you can tell you have been crying."

She laughed quietly and then sighed. Nothing could take her mind off her sorrow for long tonight.

"Ok. You come with me though to help distract them."

He chuckled.

"Yes, princess."

She rolled her eyes, gave back the sweatshirt and performed the henge.

"Do I look better?"

He eyed her face.

"Yeah, but don't talk to anyone. Your voice will give you away immediately."

She nodded. He put a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Come on Hinata. Whatever it is, you'll feel better after you sleep."

She smiled at him, while thinking to herself '_I doubt it.'_

_***_

_A/N- _Hey guys. Im trying to update in a timely manner now. At least every weekend. I cant guarantee anything though. Can you believe Hinata turned Naruto down! I can barely believe it and Im writing the story. T-T Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. :D


	12. Chapter 12 Emi's Heart

I do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 12

Emi's Heart

Hinata woke up slowly, blinking at the ceiling. She had never before felt such a strong desire to just stay in bed and never get up to face the day. Her dream had been about Naruto. She had seen their wedding as it should be; her father giving her hand to Naruto in blessing and the clan behind him. Naruto had smiled at her and in that moment all her fears and worries disappeared. Then she woke up.

_That wedding will never happen. _She felt her eyes start to water again but she pulled herself together before she was lost to her grief. She sat up and took a deep breath; composing her face. She began to get ready for the day when a bird landed on her windowsill. It was one of the Hokage's birds. She whistled at it quietly and it flew away as she began to get ready more quickly. If the Hokage wanted to see her then she probably had a mission. This could be just what she needed right now.

***

Hinata knocked on the Hokage's door.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door and slid into the office.

"Hello Hinata." Tsunade smiled at her. "Your teammates should arrive soon, then I'll explain why I called you all here."

Hinata nodded but didn't reply. Tsunade frowned a little and studied her face. Hinata had always been the person who would blush and say hello, making some small talk before the others arrived. Now she just stared out the window with no expression. _She looks so different. Her face looks lost._ Tsunade asked her quietly:

"Are you alright?"

Hinata turned back to Tsunade and for a moment hesitated on whether to say anything. She had always looked up to Tsunade. She was a great leader who cared for her people, but Hinata had always felt rather insignificant around her. Hinata tried to smile but it just turned into a grimace so she stopped trying.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Do you need more time off after what happened?"

Hinata did smile a little at this but it was quickly gone.

"No, thank you. I'm ready to be put back on missions."

Then Junichi slipped into the room and Hiro and Hideki were not far behind. Tsunade still seemed to be watching Hinata out of the corner of her eye but she seemed to accept Hinata's answer.

"We received this missive from Suna this morning. It tells us that a missing Nin from Suna was tracked down, and while attempting to catch him they chased him into the Fire country. His name is Genya. They aren't sure if he is headed for Konoha or not. I am sending you four to help catch him." She held up a picture for all of them to see. He was a bald man with a bandage hiding the lower half of his face. His eyes were a very bright blue and they looked very mischievous. "He is a very powerful genjutsu user so I chose a team that is majority Hyuuga. But also Junichi will be very handy as he can track him." She smiled at him and he grinned back.

"Well, you can take as much time as you need. Send back reports if you can."

Hinata nodded and turned to leave with her team following her. _Now I can get away from the village for a while_.

***

Neji jumped from branch to branch as he ran with his team. They had about a day more of travel before they made it back to the Sun village. It had been a long and uneventful trip. They had been taking it easy; not going too fast to try to get back. Neji would be glad to be back because it meant having some alone time again. He liked his teammates in general but Isao often got on his nerves.

Emi had also become closer to him. They were becoming friends; which was something he could not say about many people in the world. She talked to him often on the way back and didn't seem bothered by the fact that he rarely answered. He found that he enjoyed it. Firstly, she was very intelligent and never brought up anything stupid as Tenten would have done. Secondly, she didn't press questions. She just told stories about herself and her brother, asked questions about Konoha that she hadn't asked the other day, and asked a few questions about him personally. These were the ones he almost never answered, or even gave a dignified grunt to.

"Hey, Neji?" Emi asked as they ran. It was getting about mid-day and they were still traveling through the trees. "Why do you grow your hair so long?"

Neji just kept running for a moment and noticed that Emi had turned away, accepting the fact that he probably wasn't going to answer.

"It's a tradition for the men of the Hyuuga clan to grow their hair long. I, however, do it to honor my father."

She had stared at him the whole time he had been speaking. Now she blinked and looked away.

"Oh. Well that's a good reason."

He smirked. She didn't say anything again for a while. Neji could see that up ahead, Isao was pestering Emori about something and he wasn't giving in, so they were paying attention to their conversation.

"When did you become a Jounin?" Emi queried.

He looked at her. "Why?"

"I'm just curious." She smiled a little at him.

He sighed. "I was sixteen."

"I didn't become a Jounin until this last year." She grinned cheerfully at him.

She was in the middle of a jump when out of no where a kunai pierced her shoulder. She cried out in shock; because of the hit her momentum was thrown off and she fell but managed to catch a lower branch before falling completely to the ground.

Neji's Byakugan was completely activated in the second it took for him to notice why she had yelled. He was on the same branch with her almost as soon as she was. He placed his hand on the kunai and looked at her. She nodded and bit her lip as he pulled it out. Isao, who had arrived just seconds later, was already healing the wound.

Neji quickly checked the blade for any indentifying marks and found none. It was a simple kunai that could have been made anywhere. All the time his eyes were also scanning their surroundings. He couldn't find any sign of an enemy. He looked at Emori who had taken the kunai from him.

"Why attack without following up on the first surprise? They could have had us at a disadvantage but now we know there is someone out there."

Neji just shook his head. "There is no one that I can see."

Emori looked confused.

Isao turned away from Emi's newly healed shoulder. "Also, why hit her?"

Isao and Emori exchanged a glance that said a thousand silent things. Emi glared at them.

"Oh, stop speculating! Maybe they were aiming at you and missed!" She gestured at Emori. "Why does it always have to be about me?"

"Well, you are my baby sister." He teased.

She slugged him, hard, in the arm.

"Owww." He complained rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh, shut up!" She exclaimed. Then she swayed and fainted. Neji caught her smoothly as she fell. She was surprisingly light in his grasp. He was expecting more of a solid weight as muscle was heavier than fat. He could still tell that she was very strong though.

"That kunai must have been poisoned. Damn, we'll have to really hurry back to the village now. I don't know poisons yet." Isao looked frustrated at his own lack of experience.

Emori moved forward. "I'll carry her."

Neji handed her over gently but Isao laid a hand on Emori's arm.

"In the event that we are attacked Neji would be better able to evade them and get her swiftly to the village. We would not be able to see if they are coming or where they are looking."

_Sometimes Isao makes a lot of sense._ Emori gave Emi back to Neji and he gently maneuvered her onto his back. In the times before when he had been put upon to carry someone it had always been awkward and very uncomfortable. Surprisingly he felt rather comfortable with the situation. _I wonder why? Maybe she just has that type of personality that makes people comfortable around her? _

They set off again with Emori in the lead, Neji in the middle and Isao at the rear. They were being totally silent now and moving very quickly. In order for them to make it to the village as soon as possible they were moving at their fastest speeds.

Soon Emi groaned a little and turned her face into Neji's neck. He felt himself blush a little and couldn't figure out why.

"What the heck is going on?" She moaned quietly. "Why do I feel so horrible?"

Neji whispered back, "That kunai that hit you was poisoned. We are trying to hurry back to the village now." She nodded and leaned her head forward into his shoulder.

He heard her whisper, "Sorry you have to carry me."

He smiled a little because he could tell from her voice that she was embarrassed she had to be carried. He would never in his lifetime admit that when she had first started to move she had rubbed her thighs on his hands in a way that had made him embarrassed as well.

"It's fine." He was trying to stifle the slight blush that had managed to creep back into his cheeks. _What is with me today?_

Neji kept his Byakugan active so he could keep an eye on their surroundings. So far he had seen no unusual activity but he was starting to wonder. He got closer behind Emori.

"When in animal shape, can you completely suppress your chakra?"

Emori glanced behind at him.

"Yes if we are trying to hide. We suppress it so that we appear as real animals."

Neji nodded and Emori put two and two together.

"You think that someone of the Faura clan attacked us?"

Neji only nodded again.

Emori growled under his breath and Neji heard him muttering, "Stupid… rebellious…idiots…"

After a while Emori stopped his grumbling and whispered behind him.

"Watch for animal activity that isn't normal; especially strange groups moving together."

Neji nodded. He had already been watching for such things but he didn't want to undermine Emori's authority by saying so. He found that if he looked very closely he could see tiny flashes of chakra out of the corner of his eyes. But he couldn't tell if it happened to come from the bird sitting in that particular tree or the bugs scurrying around the trunk.

One thing he knew for sure though was that there were many of them and they surrounded them. He used hand signals to tell Isao behind him and caught up to Emori to do the same for him. However as he caught up with him he felt the chakra around him burst out, and saw at least 8 various creatures turn into ninja.

Emori and Isao didn't need any warning to feel the amount of chakra that now surrounded them; they all stopped and stood close to Neji. The way they were positioned put Emi, still on Neji's back, in the center of the group. Neji already had strategies and escape plans buzzing through his head.

The enemy ninja did not attack. They stood there with their faces covered and their weapons ready but they did not move. The tense atmosphere did not abate as Emori started asking questions.

"Who are you? Why do you attack us?"

At first the silence remained from the others until one stepped forward. This ninja was shorter than most and the mask that covered its face showed startlingly green eyes. The voice that came from this ninja revealed it to be a woman.

"We are of the Faura clan. You harbor our enemy among your teammates." She pointed a finger imposingly at Neji. He did not react but he could feel Emi stiffen on his back.

"We made a treaty with the Hyuuga. They are our allies." Emori said back.

The woman just shook her head.

"Even so, why do you attack us? If you are truly part of the clan then you know who I am. You know that if you attack us now then you will be committing treason against the clan greater than when you left the village for your stupid prejudices."

"That is why we ask you to leave him, and go on your way."

Emori laughed. "You expect me to abandon my teammate to fight off his enemies on his own?"

"Yes I do Emori! His people killed your mother! Don't you have any respect for her memory?"

"Of course I do, Takami." Emori said calmly.

The ninja Emori had called Takami stiffened at the mention of her name but then relaxed and removed her mask. She had long brown hair, but Neji could see a few streaks of grey. Her eyes were sad and tired, but she still looked strong and determined.

"Then why do you not kill him? Your mother deserves to have revenge on her murderers and letting their spawn walk among us is an insult to her spirit!"

"They did not kill my mother. You know this very well."

"They did! If they had not hurt her then she would have lived! It is their fault she is dead!" Tears had welled up in her eyes now.

Emori just shook his head. "It was happenstance and mistakes."

Takami closed her eyes and shook her head again. "I refuse to accept that. Now either leave him or fight with him."

Emori sighed. "You already know my answer Takami."

Takami smiled a little. "Ah. But are you willing to risk the life of your precious sister?" She sneered around the word 'sister' as though it were an insult.

Emori smiled at her. "Of course. She is, after all, my precious sister." They way he said it was full of affection and it obviously set Takami's teeth on edge.

"I will not bear seeing your mother's killers among our people. I'll die before I let it happen."

Emori shook his head. "I don't want that. You were my mother's best friend."

The tears in Takami's eyes overflowed and rolled down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.

Emori took advantage of the moment to turn and whisper to Neji.

"Follow the plan." He said quickly under his breath, "Get her out."

Neji nodded his head once to show he understood. He didn't like running from a fight. Especially one that was about him, but he could also understand the need to get Emi out of here and back to the village as soon as possible. She was holding onto his back but her grip was weak and he could tell if he let go of her she would not be able to hold on to him by herself. He could also feel slight tremors running through her body as though she was shivering. Her condition seemed to be getting worse as he stood there.

His Byakugan was still activated and he was constantly scanning the group for weaknesses and gaps so he could get out freely. Emori and Isao would fight and distract most of them and the rest Neji would just have to lose. The fact that Emi was practically unconscious would make this even more difficult, in that if anyone caught up to them he would need his hands free at least.

The whole group stood in tense stillness for another few seconds before chaos broke out. Emori's chakra flared as he changed into his phase state, developing some of the characteristics of a lion. He roared as he began fighting three of the surrounding ninja. Isao also jumped into the fight. Neji built up his chakra and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

He reappeared on a tree branch far enough away that he wasn't seen but he could hear the enemy trying to find him and fighting Emori and Isao. Transporting was always an imprecise art. The only ninja he had known to perfect it was Kakashi who could make himself appear anywhere he wanted; and took full advantage of that fact in Konoha. For others it was more of a chance. Neji found he could influence the location control better when he did short distances which was why he had not traveled far.

The second his foot hit the branch he was moving as fast as he could away from the action going on behind him. He needed to be completely out of the area until those chasing him had no chance of catching him.

He gave his legs an extra boost of chakra to push himself farther forward with each jump. With his eyes he could see that he was outdistancing them easily. Now he just needed to get Emi to safety.

He kept running for a long time after he could no longer see those behind him. The moon was shining high above his head when he finally stopped. He pulled Emi around and sat her against a tree to check on her.

She was completely unconscious and shivering. He placed his hand gently on her forehead. She was running a high fever. Neji cursed under his breath. He quickly tried the few healing jutsus he had learned for emergencies but they didn't seem to have any effect.

_Why didn't they send Isao with her? _He now had to decide whether it would be better for her to rest and not be jostled by his movement, or if it was more urgent for her to get to the village immediately. He just sat there and stared at her while he weighed his options in his head.

Her face seemed to be tense, as though worried, and her breathing was shallow. As he stared at her he decided, _I'll let her rest for a little and then we will move again. _He turned and surveyed the area, looking for some kind of alcove or cave where they could stay hidden. Not far from where he was he saw a small cave in the side of a large hill that was shallow and empty but surrounded by plants that would provide cover.

He gently picked her up and carried her in his arms to the place. It was so shallow it could barely be called a cave; more of a deep indent in the rock. But it provided shelter from the wind and he could easily defend it if he needed to.

He gently laid her on a natural pile of leaves that would cushion her from the cold rock and laid a blanket over her to make sure she was warm. He began unpacking certain things from his bag but he didn't start a fire because of the unwanted attention it would attract. He popped a soldier pill into his mouth to take away the desire to eat and sleep, and then he leaned back to keep watch.

About an hour later, Neji was still positioned uncomfortably on the rock when he heard Emi groan quietly. He turned and crouched beside her, laying a hand on her forehead as he had been doing periodically to check on her. Her fever was still high but not as bad as it had been before he stopped. She groaned again and her eyes fluttered open.

"What…Neji…wh…"

"Shhh. Don't talk." He said quietly. "You're sick and I'm trying to get you back to the village."

She blinked at him and nodded.

"Emori?" She asked him weakly.

"They are fine. They just had to act as a distraction."

She just closed her eyes and sighed.

"Do you think you can handle traveling again? We need to get you back."

She didn't open her eyes but she nodded again. Neji quickly gathered his bag and helped her to sit up. He wrapped the blanket gently around her shoulders before pulling her up onto his back again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he set off again, this time going slowly to let her rest.

He had kept track of their direction so he knew where they were, approximately, and could get them to the village. But he really wasn't sure how long it would take. Probably not much longer than a day but he wanted to get back soon.

Emi had fallen asleep on his back again during the trip, and he had begun to move faster again. Her breathing was very shallow and her body wasn't even shaking anymore. Her life was dependant on him at the moment and it worried him that he wouldn't make it. A part of his mind that was panicking was telling him to run faster, to get her there as soon as possible. But the rational part of his mind knew that going faster might stress her body which would make the poison spread all the faster.

"Damn it."

It was almost morning. He sped up again still trying to make his movements as smooth as he could. The anxiety he was feeling was ruining his judgment, and he knew it. What he didn't know was why he was so anxious in the first place. His teammate was in danger, but he had faced this situation many times before with other teammates and his reactions had always been only one of logic, not of fear. _Once again, she is different._

As he came over the crest of a hill and came out of the trees he saw the village of the sun. He immediately activated his Byakugan to make sure to avoid any dangerous ninja who would try to stop him. The sun was just coming over the horizon and he could see some activity in the village as the day begun. He was on the side of the main entrance and he could see the gate and the practice yards within.

Between Neji and the gate he could see ninja hidden in the long grass and behind the curves of hills. He reached up with one hand, taking Emi's weight on his one arm, and touched his fingers to the pulse that ran through the limp wrist hanging around his neck. Her heartbeat was weak and stuttering. His panic that he had been holding back began to eat at his mind again. He could feel she was running out of time.

It was three miles to the gate, and in between there he could see at least thirty masked ninja obviously waiting for him. They had their backs to the city and were scanning the hills and trees. He quickly looked for weaknesses and formed a plan.

Once again he disappeared with a cloud of smoke, and appeared about a half a mile from the village. This time he had not been aiming for precision but for distance and so he had made it within the circle of enemies waiting for him. However his levels of chakra that had been continuously worn down for the last few days had not taken him the whole way.

Now he was exhausted, both in his chakra levels, and his physical strength. He had been running almost continuously and he hadn't slept for three days. He had gone longer, but his worry for Emi had caused him to find no peace as he usually could and he was mentally exhausted as well. As soon as he touched the ground after transporting he knew they had seen him. He used his last stores of chakra to push himself forward in long leaps. The guards at the gate saw him as well and seemed to know what was happening because they immediately went into action trying to get to him. However, the enemy was closer.

His Byakugan saw the attacks before they came but he could not dodge every one. Kunai and shuriken were flying at him in an effort to stop his movement or kill him. They obviously did not care about Emi as they aimed for either of them. He quickly, as he ran, pulled her around so he was carrying her in his arms. As he did so he felt a kunai he had failed to dodge bury itself in his back. He didn't even wince; he had known worse pain.

He kept his focus on the ninja coming for him from both sides. He was keeping his speed up but both were faster. Those behind him were catching up, but so were those ahead. He felt another blade slice his back and he grunted as it was ripped out by a chakra string. The muscles in his back were seizing but he forced himself past it. He looked up in time to see the gate guards catch up to him and quickly pass him to protect his back.

He could hear the fighting behind him but he could no longer see it as the last of his chakra fled. He haltingly came to a stop and fell to his knees as he tried to gently set Emi down; but his movements were those of someone barely conscious. Somehow out of instinct he held on to her wrist as he collapsed to the side. His ears were ringing and his vision was going black, but he could feel her heartbeat as though it were pounding in his ears.

The slow beat of her heart was weaker than before. His mind was slow and couldn't process what he was feeling, but the last thing he felt before he let go of his consciousness was panic as her heart stuttered again, and then stopped. _Emi._

_***_

_A/N- Sorry this took me so long to update. I really struggled writing this chapter. For some reason I was having a mental block so I couldnt write. I hope its not boring or lame. T-T Anyway. Please review and tell me what you think. I even accept criticism. :)  
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